Thunder and Lightning
by jakeroo123
Summary: Luigi wakes up one day in a strange forest, where he meets and befriends a Raichu. He sets out to figure out what's going on, and how he'll get back to his own world. Along the way he meets new friends, and new enemies...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Luigi rolled over as the light hit his eyes, grumbling about how he was still tired. Then he realised that he was sleeping in grass, and not in his bed. His eyes shot open, and he was met with a red-orange, mouse-like face with gold-colored cheeks.

"Rai?"

Luigi jumped back from the creature, hands in front of himself. From there, he was able to get a good look at it. It was around two and a half feet tall, with a long, thin tail ending in what looked like a golden lightningbolt. It was very mouse-like in appearance, though Luigi honestly hadn't seen an orange mouse before, or one with such... fancy ears. Its stomach was covered in peach-colored fur, and its paws were brown.

"Rai?" It asked, sounding a bit concerned. "Raichu?"

Luigi sighed, and calmed down. "Oh, sorry... You startled me, little guy."

The mouse-creature looked at him curiously.

"Anyway, hi. I'm Luigi," Luigi held out his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Raichu rai," it said, touching Luigi's hand. "Raichu!"

"Raichu... Is that what you are?" Luigi asked, remembering that Pidgits and Yoshis only said their names in their native languages.

The mouse, now identified as Raichu, nodded.

Luigi spent the next few hours playing with his new friend in the forest they were in, not even worrying about where he was and forgetting the troubles from last night. Finally, they came to a stop to get a drink of water from a quick-flowing stream. After drinking his fill, Luigi looked into the stream and got the shock of his life.

He looked different. He couldn't tell how much different, but he was definitely shorter and lacking his mustache. His clothes also looked different, but he could feel that his hat was still in place. As soon as he processed this, he dashed upstream, Raichu barely able to keep up with him as he raced to find a pond he could look at his reflection in.

He could barely believe what he was seeing when he finally found one. He looked exactly like he did at the age of twelve, apart from the clothing. No mustache, and only about five feet tall... Though what was really strange was his clothes. His hat was different, more like a green baseball cap with a white front, and had a green lightning bolt in place of his classic 'L' in a circle; but he could feel it was the same hat he'd always had. His overalls had been replaced by jeans of the same color, while his shirt had become short-sleeved. His gloves were now fingerless, each with a lightning bolt on the back; and his work boots had changed into white sneakers with green trim.

"... What happened to me?"

"Rai?" Luigi turned around to see Raichu standing behind him.

"Oh, hi again," Luigi bent down to pet it on the head. "I'm just a bit... confused, that's all."

"Rai?"

"... Well, I woke up in this strange forest, and I'm somehow twelve years old again... I have no idea where I am, or even... Oh no, Mario! He must be so worried about me. Oh no, no, this isn't good, no no no..."

"Rai!"

"Huh?" Luigi looked up at Raichu.

"Raichu, rai rai, chu!"

"... Are you trying to tell me not to worry?"

Raichu nodded.

"... If you say so..." Luigi sighed.

"Rai!" Raichu ran off, and quickly returned with some apples.

"Whatcha got there?" Luigi asked.

Raichu smiled, and threw one up. Suddenly, its cheeks started glowing, and it unleashed a bolt of electricity, roasting the apple as it fell into its mouth.

After getting over his surprise, Luigi clapped politely. "Very nice! Electric-roasted fruit. May I have one of the apples?"

Raichu gave Luigi an apple. Luigi threw the apple straight up, and raised his hand to throw an arc of blinding blue lightning at it, roasting it much the same way Raichu had. He caught it, and took a bite. "Mm, not bad. Wish I'd thought of that."

Raichu was staring at Luigi in shock.

"What? You did the same thing."

"Rai, rai!" Raichu began to explain. "Raichu rai chu, rai-"

Suddenly, a net came out of nowhere, snatching Raichu up.

"Huh?" Luigi asked, looking around. "Hey! Who's there? Give me back my friend!"

"Prepare for trouble!" Stepping out of the shadows came a girl in her late teens wearing a white outfit with a red 'R' on the front, her pink hair in a strange comet shape.

"And make it double!" A lavender-haired boy of the same age and similar dress said as he stepped out.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!" the girl announced her name.

"James!" the boy did the same.

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, dats's right!" This last line was said by a new figure, a small tan-colored cat walking upright.

"I'll always fight for my friends!" Luigi exclaimed, getting into a stance. "Give it back!"

"... Uhh... He's not scared of us, Jessie," James said. "What do we do? We didn't bring our Pokemon."

"He's a twerp with no Pokemon! We can just split, it's not like he can stop us."

Luigi glared at them. "Now, tell me. _Where is my friend?_"

"In our balloon, twoip!" Meowth said. "Not dat it'll help ya! Come on, guys, let's get outta here."

"Right." Jessie, James, and Meowth all clambered up a rope ladder that fell from above, quickly reaching the top. Luigi looked up to see a hot air balloon shaped like Meowth's head, where Raichu could clearly be seen struggling to get out of the net.

Luigi crouched down, and jumped up, just high enough to grab Raichu and land on the other side.

"What the..." Jessie was flabbergasted.

"He jumps like da main twoip!"

"Aw, and it was a shiny raichu..."

Luigi ripped the net apart, allowing Raichu to get out. Raichu started preparing to unleash a Thunderbolt on Team Rocket.

"... We're gonna get blasted off again, aren't we?" James asked sadly.

Jessie and Meowth nodded, before the attack hit their balloon, causing them to fly away into the distance.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"... What was with those three?" Luigi asked Raichu, who just shrugged in response.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Fyre Red: **I've liked the show for awhile, and never claimed not to. It's the main series games I don't like so much.__  
_

_**Nintendofg4life:** Maybe. I'm not sure yet.  
_

_**DrazenTheRival:** I probably will use one of those, mostly because of how many you suggested.  
_

Translated Pokemon Speak (Raichu's, mostly) will be _italicized_ from now on. Also, it won't be _completely_ limited to the names - Pikachu himself says "Chaa!" a lot, after all._  
_

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Luigi spent the rest of the week with Raichu, trying to learn about the world he was in and take his mind off the inexplicably nagging feeling he had. It didn't take him very long at all to get a feel for Raichu's language, which Raichu was quite surprised about. Throughout the week, he told Luigi as much as Luigi could understand. This world was populated by something he called 'Churairai', which was one of the few things Luigi couldn't figure out no matter how hard he tried. Humans trained the Churairai, and most had no special powers of their own (and definitely nothing like Luigi's thunderhand). Luigi was pretty sure that Raichu called them 'trainers'. He didn't quite get what they were being trained for, other than Raichu (and most Churairai that appeared to humans) thought that it would be fun. Also, apparently his own name sounded like 'Ruiri'.

On the seventh day in the world, Raichu asked Luigi a question while the two were sitting under a tree.

"_Luigi, will you be my trainer?_"

Luigi was rather confused by this, "Um... I guess so."

"_Awesome!_" Raichu jumped in happiness. "_Now I need a nickname!_"

"Nickname?"

"_Yeah! Trainers nickname their_ Churairai_ a lot. And I kind of want one._"

"Okay... How about Luke?"

"Ruk?" Raichu tried the name out (at least, Luigi was pretty sure that was what he was doing). "_I like it!_"

"Cool, I guess," Luigi said lazily. "So... Uh, what now, exactly?"

"_We go to Professor Oak,_" Luigi found it rather strange that he was named after a tree, "_And tell him you want to be a trainer. He lives in_ Raichu _Town._"

"Which way?" Luigi asked, getting up. Luke pointed (a rather impressive feat for having no apparent fingers) to what seemed to be the south. Luigi picked him up, and began running in the direction Luke had pointed him in.

After only a few seconds of running, Luigi noticed something wrong. Terribly wrong. There were no power stars in this world except for the one residing inside himself. He'd always been able to feel and use their power, and not feeling them was so alien that he hadn't recognized it until he tried to tap into their power for speed. All he had now was his own star... Which meant that his speed and strength were terribly limited compared to what he was used to using. Still impressive, but he'd have to be careful.

Even with this, it didn't even take an hour of running to reach a small town. He had wanted to stop at the city they'd passed, but Luke told him to keep going. There didn't appear to be much in town - just some houses, a store, a post office, a restaraunt, a plant nursery and a building on a hill with a windmill next to it. The town had a rural look to it, being mostly grassy fields and paths from place to place. A sign read _Pallet Town_, announcing the name of the quiet place.

Luigi slowed to a stop, looking at Luke.

"_There,_" Luke pointed at the bulding with the windmill, "_That's Oak's lab._"

Luigi nodded, and took off once more to reach it. Once he did, he let Luke down and knocked on the door. Just seconds later, an old man in a labcoat appeared.

"Hm? Oh, hello there. And who might you be?"

"I'm Luigi. And this is Luke, he asked me to come see you... Professor Oak, right?"

"You can understand your Raichu?" he asked in surprise. He chuckled, "Well, that's not something you see everyday. Now, what is it you wanted to see me about?"

"Something about a journey."

"Ah! Yes, yes. Come on in, and we'll get started."

* * *

"Now, Luigi, I'll have to ask you a few questions before we begin," Oak said, sitting down at a computer. "Is that okay?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Alright then. First... Are you a boy? Or are you a girl?"

"Wait, what?"

"Are you a boy? Or are you a girl?" Oak repeated. "It's a stupid question, of course I can see you're a boy, but for some reason the people who design the system need me to ask it."

"Uh, boy." Who designed this system?

"Right," Oak typed something in. "Let's begin with your name. What is it? Before you ask, I'm required to ask that before entering it, too."

"Luigi."

Oak typed it in. "Good, good. Now, what is your home town?"

"Toad Town," Luigi said without thinking.

Oak furrowed his brows. "Ah... What was that, Luigi?"

"Toad Town... Oh, I may have some explaining to do."

"I imagine so," Oak turned in his chair. "Because I honestly have never heard of such a place."

"Well, you see..."

* * *

"... And he asked me to be his... Trainer, is that it? and come here to start a journey. I came because it seemed like the only lead I had on getting home."

"Amazing..." Oak said in shock. "Never in all my wildest dreams... But I guess it was impossible for it to be any... Ahem," Oak cleared his throat. "That's quite a story you have there, Luigi. Why, if it weren't for all those things Ash gets into, I'd probably think you were crazy! Anyway, I'll just put down your hometown as Pallet. Yes, I believe that works." He typed it in, and attached a small device to his computer. After a few seconds, the computer beeped, and he handed the small red device to Luigi.

"What's this?"

"That's a Pokedex. It's a device of my own design, your identification and able to give information on Pokemon you'll meet on your journey. I'm sure you'll meet plenty, what with all the traveling you'll need to do to get home."

"Right."

"Oh, the gym challenge!" Oak said, eyes lighting up. "I just remembered. Most trainers like to challenge Pokemon gyms in order to compete in the Pokemon League. There's not really much reason for you to do it, other than it being great fun, but it's a great way to meet a lot of people who may be able to help you and see as much of the region as you can."

"Hmm..." Luigi rubbed his chin. "I'll think about it."

"Good, good. I think that's everything," Oak said, closing his eyes. "Hmm... yes, I just remembered. If you spot a boy in a red hat with a Pikachu - That's Raichu's pre-evolved form -"

"Rai!" Luke grinned.

"- on his head, he may be able to help you. His name is Ash Ketchum. Anyway, have a good trip!"

"Bye," Luigi waved, as he ran off to begin his journey.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Fyre Red:** Yeah, they're a little _too_ turn-based. No dodging, no countering, etc. Well, they're going to meet soon. We'll just have to see how that meeting goes. He'll get home... Er, somehow. Haven't worked out the specifics yet.  
_

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Luigi slowed down once the field he was running through started condensing into a sparse forest. Luke jumped off of his head, and began walking next to him.

"_A great big adventure!_" Luke said excitedly. "_We'll meet new friends, battle, and see the world! Isn't it great?_"

"I guess," Luigi replied, looking to the sky. "But I can't help but worry..."

"_I'm sure everything will be fine,_" Luke assured him. "Y_our brother... He's a hero, right? He can deal with this, I'm sure of it!_"

"Right," Luigi nodded, sighing.

Luigi and Luke continued walking along. Nothing really eventful happened, so Luigi began telling Luke more about his adventures. In the last week, it had been Luke doing most of the talking about his life and how this world worked, so Luigi felt it was his turn to tell more about his life. Luke listened in amazement, astounded as everything Mario and Luigi had managed to do. Luke frequently interrupted with excited questions, which Luigi answered in short order. Luigi finished his story up just as the sun was setting and they came across a sign.

**_Viridian City_**

_A beautiful city that is enveloped in green year-round._

The city was gradually and breathtakingly bathed in red light from the sunset as they walked through it.

"_... Not so green now,_" Luke muttered.

Luigi chuckled. "So, where to first?"

"_The store._"

"Ah. Good idea, Luke." People nearby gave Luigi weird looks as he replied to Luke, but he ignored them. It didn't take Luigi long to find a store called a PokeMart, who were more than happy to pay an undisclosed sum of money for the gigantic golden coins of the Mushroom Kingdom. While there he bought some things at Luke's request, fifteen 'Pokeballs' ("_To catch new friends_" was Luke's explanation), Potions ("_To heal up_"), Pokemon Food ("_FOOD. MINE._"), and other sorts of food ("_FOOD. MINE. Oh, uh... And you can have some too, I guess._"). After getting what Luke wanted, Luigi bought some stuff of his own. He got a table , chairs, silverware, cooking pots, dishes, a portable stove, a portable refrigerator, and a large tent ("_Wait, they sell those here? Never mind that, how will you carry all of that?_"), sleeping bags ("_I want the blue one!_"), some sort of advanced watch-thingy, a pack of water bottles, and a basket for holding berries ("_Yummy... Berries._")

Luigi brought all of their purchases to the clerk, and paid for all of it.

"You're a strong lad to be dragging all that around. Then again, you also handed me fifty pounds of gold not ten minutes ago."

Luigi thanked the clerk and put everything away before walking out of the PokeMart.

"_Wait, what?_" Luke was dumbfounded. After a few seconds of just standing there, he dropped to all fours to run after Luigi. "_How did you... what the... where did you put it all?_"

Luigi shrugged, and started walking aimlessly through town.

"_... Uh, aren't we going to sleep? I think the Pokemon Center lets us..._"

Luigi continued walking aimlessly. Somehow, he managed to stumble into a round white building with a red roof labeled "Pokemon Center". Then he somehow managed to book a room from the pink-haired nurse, and flopped down on the bed.

Luke had no idea how Luigi had managed to do that. Oh well, at least he got to sleep in a bed for once. He hopped into the bed, and curled up to go to sleep. It was just as comfortable as his father had always said. Within a few seconds, he was asleep.

* * *

_Man in green... you have a great task before you._

"Huh? What's going on?" Luigi looked around. He couldn't see anything except blackness as far as the eye could see. "This is one of those psychic dream things, isn't it?"

_Yes. An evil organization has brought you into this world, hoping to take advantage of you. You must not let them._

"What evil organization?"

_Something to do with space. I didn't quite catch the name._

"Oh. Well, thanks anyway."

_Keep your actions on the down-low, too. Don't tell anybody you don't trust about your powers._

"Will do."

_Also, put Luke in a Pokeball at least once, or someone else could catch him._

"Uh... Okay."

_Now, wake up. Or I'll eat your face or something like that. ROAR!_

* * *

Luigi jumped up in bed, accidentally knocking Luke to the floor. To his surprise, it was already morning, the sun shining brightly through the window.

"Rai!"

"Ack! Oh, sorry, buddy. I had a weird dream... A very weird dream."

"_Some weird voice was talking to you?_" Luke guessed.

"Yup. It said I should put you in a Pokeball at least once... And some other stuff too."

"Chu! _I completely forgot about that! Do it, but let me back out. Um... To put me in the first time, you touch me with it. To let me out, you throw it and it'll automatically bounce back into your hand once I'm out. Oh, use the one you got as a free gift for buying a lot of them, you know, the white one._"

"Okay..." Luigi took out the white ball ('Premier Ball', apparently), and touched it to Luke's head. It popped open at the red stripe in the middle, and Luke became a mass of red light as he was sucked inside. The ball closed, and the little circle on the seam started blinking red as it shook. After a few seconds, both the shaking and blinking stopped as a strange sound was heard.

Luigi threw the ball, and Luke appeared in a shower of sparkles.

"_That was weird. Let's go, anyway._"_  
_

Luigi picked up Luke, and ran out of the room. Unfortunately, he wasn't watching where he was going, and crashed into somebody.

Both were knocked to the ground from the impact, Luke flying off of Luigi's head and landing on his feet.

"Oof... You okay, Luke?" Luigi asked, rubbing his head.

"_I'm fine._"

"Ow... What hit me?" the person Luigi had ran into said in a boyish, slightly scratchy, voice. "You okay, Pikachu?"

"Pika-chu."

Luigi got up, opening his eyes to see a young boy of... Well, Luigi wasn't entirely sure how old he was. He had incredibly messy black hair, brown eyes, odd zigzags on his cheeks, and was wearing a red hat and blue clothes.

Luigi reached down to help him up. "Sorry about that. Got a little carried away."

"It's okay," the boy replied, getting to his feet. "Right, Pikachu?"

"Ka!" Luigi looked over to see something that looked a lot like Luke, except it was smaller, yellow with red cheeks, and had differently shaped ears and tail.

"Pikachu... Raichu's pre-evolved form, right?"

"Right," the boy said.

"... What's your name?"

The boy grinned. "I'm Ash Ketchum, and I'm gonna be a Pokemon Master!"


	4. Chapter 4

**_Fyre_**_** Red:**_ _So was I, but it didn't end up that way. Guess they're just too nice. No, no they won't... Somehow Mario and Luigi can carry around hundreds of items the size of basketballs. Strange... Yes, I changed the title._**  
**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"I'm Ash Ketchum, and I'm gonna be a Pokemon Master!" The boy, or Ash, exclaimed, grinning. "And this is my best friend, Pikachu!" He pointed to the yellow creature.

"Pi Pikachu."

"Nice to meet you," Luigi said, shaking his hand. "I'm Luigi, and this is my buddy Luke."

"_Hi!_"

"Hey, Luke! Like that guy with the Zorua who made movies."

Pikachu had an amused look on his face. "Pik, Pika chu kapi!"

"_No, my dad's a Clefairy._"

"Pika..." Pikachu sighed.

"Anyway... I just came from Pallet Town, to travel around to find a solution to a problem of mine. Professor Oak actually mentioned you, and suggested I ask you for help."

Ash was silent for a moment, before turning to Pikachu. "Hey, Pikachu? I think we've found our next adventure a little early!"

"Pika-piKA!" Pikachu exclaimed happily, jumping on his trainer's shoulder.

"Wait here. I'm gonna tell Professor Oak and Mom." Ash ran off to another part of the Pokemon Center.

"_Shouldn't you tell him what the problem is?_"

"When we aren't in public."

Within a few minutes, Ash returned. "Come on! Let's get going."

Luigi nodded; he and Luke following Ash out of the building.

* * *

"So, anyway," Ash asked as the two walked through the forest just north of Viridian, "What's the problem you have?"

"Well, you see-"

"Prepare for trouble from the skies!" a familiar girl with pink comet-shaped hair dropped out of a tree.

"From beyond the stars, a nasty surprise!" James said, joining Jessie on the ground.

"Not these two again..." Luigi sighed.

"Oh, it's just Team Rocket," Ash said disinterestedly.

"Shaddup, will ya?" Meowth asked from above.

"An evil as old as the galaxy..." Jessie didn't pause in the motto.

"...sent here to fulfill our destiny!"

"Plus, there's me!" Meowth dropped from above.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Jessie exclaimed in a particularly hammy way.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" James, if possible, was even hammier.

"Jessie!"

"And James!"

"And Meowth are the names!"

"_Do they think we'll forget or something?_" Luke asked.

"Pikapika," Pikachu shrugged.

"STOP INTERRUPTING OR ELSE!" Jessie yelled. "Anywhere there's peace in the universe..."

"...Team Rocket..." James continued.

"...Will be there..." Meowth added.

"To make everything worse!" All three finished.

"Wobbuffet!" A... strange, blue punching bag creature saluted as it appeared in a flash of red light.

"Hey, Pikachu, Thunderbolt, okay?" Ash asked, not particularly paying attention.

"Pika..." Pikachu jumped up, electricity gathering around his body. "CHUUU!"

The bolt of lightning hit Team Rocket dead-on, having absolutely no effect whatsoever.

"Pika?!"

Jessie laughed. "Silly twerp, our uniforms are rubber! Electricity won't work!"

"First, that doesn't make sense," Luigi pointed out. "Second, what about Meowth and that blue thing?"

"Uh..." Meowth did not seem to have thought of that. "Plot convenience? Anyways..." He took out a remote control with a single red button on it, and pressed it. Suddenly, two... Strange, butterfly net-like things dropped from above (or, as Luigi assumed, from their balloon); catching Luke and Pikachu before anyone had time to blink.

"Pikapi!"

"Hey, give back Pikachu!"

"Too bad, twoip!" Meowth said as he, Jessie, James, and Wobbuffet jumped onto a tree branch and into their balloon.

Jessie laughed. "Take it away!"

"Right!" The balloon started floating away... Only to stop short with a sudden jerk after a few feet.

"Huh?" Meowth turned around. "What the!?"

Luigi was holding the metal pole connecting Luke's net to the hot air balloon firmly in his hand.

"LET GO!" Jessie screamed. "FULL SPEED AHEAD, JAMES!"

"Oh... Right!" James turned on a motor that was attatched to the balloon, and it took of.

_CRACK._

... After the net broke off in Luigi's hand.

"Pikachu!" Ash started running. There was no way he'd be able to catch up... And, come to think of it, Luigi wouldn't be able to catch up either in this state.

He sighed. He'd hoped to avoid this... Luigi raised his other hand, and shot a bolt of electricity at the pole connecting Pikachu's net to the balloon. It blew up... somehow, sending Pikachu flying towards Ash. Luigi got to work getting Luke out of his net.

"PIKA?!" Pikachu was in shock as he fell into Ash's arms.

"It's alright, buddy!" Ash hugged his friend. "You're back now."

"How did he..." James was aghast.

"It's a twoip-erbolt!"

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Jessie screamed. "JAMES, TURN IT AROUND!"

"Pika..."

"I think it might be too late for that, Jessie..." James said worriedly.

"CHUUU!" Pikachu let of a huge thunderbolt, enveloping the entire balloon, which was somehow sent flying by the attack.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Wobba!"

"Shut up, you!" Jessie yelled just before they flew out of earshot.

Luigi finished getting Luke out of the net just as Ash turned around, having gotten the net off of Pikachu very quickly.

"Hey, Luke's really strong," Ash smiled. "That was awesome."

"_Wait, I didn't-_"

"Pika! Pikapi, Chupipi ka pikapika!"

Ash laughed. "Don't be silly, Pikachu."

"Pikapi... Pika, pikachu!"

"_He can?!_"

"That's completely different," Ash pointed out. "Anyone could do that with the potential. Humans using electric attacks, though, that's-"

"True."

"Huh?"

"It's true," Luigi put Luke down, and created a ball of blinding blue-white electricity between his hands.

"... That's... How..." Ash was dumbstruck.

"I have a lot of explaining to do... Listen closely, and don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

* * *

_"He used an electric attack, sir. And his strength is truly impressive."_

_"So he is the one... We cannot allow him to fall into their hands. Keep an eye on him."  
_

_"Alright."  
_

_Silence.  
_

_"...Sir? What about that other one?"  
_

_"Follow him as well. He looks very familiar. But remember: The green one is top priority, you two."  
_

_"Right!"  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**_Fyre Red: _**_Thanks. Well, he is Meowth... He's not exactly above breaking the fourth wall.  
_

**_Note:_ **_Just saying this now, but I won't be following the four-move limit included in the games. There's only one certain mouse it will really be noticeable with, and I think everyone knows _exactly_ who I'm talking about.**  
**_

**Chapter 5**

* * *

**(Luigi)**

"I'm from another world," Luigi began. "Things in my world work very differently. Bricks float in midair, hills are impossibly steep and colorful, islands float in midair... You name it, we have it."

"Like the distortion world."

"... You'll have to explain some stuff to me, too. Anyway, I save the world with my brother, Mario, on a daily basis. To do this, we use magical items..."

Luigi spent awhile explaining the rules of his world, and how everything worked out, and about his own adventures. Ash was a bit... odd. He grasped anything pertaining to strategy, rules, or any sort of battle very easily; but had a lot of trouble understanding almost anything else.

"About a week ago, I woke up in this forest," Luigi gestured to the trees they were walking through. "I met Luke, and we became friends. I spent most of my time in this world here, before Luke suggested we go to Professor Oak's."

"And you can already tell what Luke's saying?" Ash asked. "That's cool. It took me... Uh... I don't remember how long it took, actually... Why'd you give him a nickname? Most trainers don't."

"He wanted one," Luigi said simply. "And why not? I'm sure it's a bit strange always-"

"Pikachu pi kachu ka! Pika ka chukapi."

"He says Pikachu's the only name he's ever had, and he doesn't want a nickname."

"Oh... Alright then."

"_Wait a sec-_"

"Do you know Luke's moves?" Ash asked suddenly. "You can check with the Pokedex Oak gave you."

"... Not sure what that means, but..." Luigi took out the Pokedex, and pointed it at Luke.

"**Raichu, a Mouse Pokémon of the Electric element. Raichu is the evolved form of Pikachu. It can shock with more than 100,000 volts, enough to render a Dragonite unconscious.**"

"_No, I can't._"

"**Raichu's known moves are Thundershock, Thunderbolt, Rain Dance, Quick Attack, Thunder, and Iron Tail.**"

"... That's actually kind of cool," Luigi said, pointing the device at Pikachu.

"**Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon. It can generate electric attacks from the electric pouches located in both of its cheeks. Pikachu's known moves are Thundershock, Thunderbolt, Agility, Quick Attack, Thunder, Double-Edge, Tackle, Leer, Iron Tail, Volt Tackle, and Electro Ball.**"

"... That's a lot. Now, Luke, you were saying something before Ash interrupted...?"

"_I forgot. I'm hungry, let's eat._"

"... Food time then. You can tell me a bit about this world that Luke couldn't while we eat, can't you?"

"Sure," Ash said. "But... Uh... I don't have any food."

"Don't worry, I've got plenty."

Ash looked blankly at Luigi and his obvious lack of a backpack. "Where, between the fibers of your shirt?"

Luigi took out a frozen pizza and his portable oven, and began cooking it.

* * *

**(Ash)**

"_That's a yes,_" Pikachu said, seeing Luigi take out an oven and a pizza from nowhere.

"Raichi, lai, chu," Luke said.

"... How did he..."

"_No idea._"

"Oh well, let's just eat."

"_Read my mind._"

It was about twenty minutes before the pizza was ready, a time filled with Ash and Pikachu moaning dramatically for food. Luke was slightly less dramatic about it, and got bored after about three minutes and started chasing something that was either hard to see or his own imagination.

"Food's ready!" Luigi finally announced.

"RAIRAIRAIRAIRAI!" Luke zipped over and grabbed a piece of pizza from Luigi's hand. "Raichu roy chuchu lai rai!"

"Well, now you get to taste it."

"_His dad told him about it,_" Pikachu explained before walking up to Luigi and making a cute face.

"No need for that," Luigi smiled, giving Pikachu a slice of pizza. "... Though I'm not sure it's entirely healthy for you."

"_Don't care, tomato sauce._"

"You said it, buddy," Ash said, grabbing six slices of pizza and beginning to eat.

Luigi sighed, and took the last two pieces for himself. "So... You were going to tell me about this world, right? Luke's dad told him a lot, and he told me, but I can't exactly understand everything he says."

"Oh, right. (chomp) Well, I've been travelling a long time... (chomp) Two years ago, Professor Oak gave me Pikachu, my very first Pokemon, and my best friend. (chomp) So, I was able to finally start my Pokemon Journey; to realize my dream of becoming a Pokemon Master!"

Ash told Luigi a lot about his adventures, and about how the world worked in general, far more than Luke had been able to tell him. Luigi seemed to be quite amused by some of Ash's descriptions of his friends - Mostly Misty, who he said "Likes bikes, water, and yelling; but doesn't like bugs." Luigi really did not get the concept of Type Advantages, though, and Ash gave up on explaining that after ten minutes of getting absolutely nowhere. He also seemed troubled by the idea of having Luke battle instead of taking on challenges himself, until Luke started talking to him... Ash was pretty sure that the young Raichu was telling Luigi he wanted to do that.

"Thank you," Luigi said, looking at the darkening sky. "That took... A long time. You may actually have a busier life than me, and that's really saying something. Hold on, I'll set up camp." Luigi pulled a large green tent out of nowhere; as well as several sleeping bags.

Ash and Pikachu both wisely decided not to question it; and simply got ready to sleep for the night. Then Pikachu remembered that they hadn't had dinner; which led to Ash and Pikachu moaning dramatically about food again.

* * *

_Yes, Luke is young. He's intended to be - by **far** - the youngest of the group. Also, I'm portraying Ash as twelve, because it makes a bit more sense than him being ten all this time, without making him old enough to really change things. I think that's acceptable, especially as it will never come up again._

_... I still wonder how old Pikachu is supposed to be, though... He certainly acts older than the other Pokemon, except when it comes to battling or things like that; but then again he was raised by Professor Oak... Do any of you have guesses?  
_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Fyre Red:**__ Just Pikachu. Just to be clear, this is intended to take place after Ash inevitably loses the Unova League. And... Yeah, I always thought Pikachu was either the same age or a bit older than Ash._

_Also, it's time for Luigi and Luke's first battle. Let's see how it goes...  
_

**Chapter 6**

* * *

**(Luigi)**

"Any idea how to get me home?" Luigi asked, as he and Ash continued to walk through Viridian Forest.

"Not much," Ash admitted. "Best we can do is go everywhere, but..."

"_Aren't there legendary Pokemon in_ Raichu_ that warp time and space or something?_" Luke asked.

"Pi." Pikachu turned to Ash. "Pikachu!"

"... Right, Sinnoh! That's where we'll go! ... If I had any idea how to get there. Maybe Brock knows..." Ash trailed off.

"Your friend? Doesn't he live nearby?"

"Yeah, just north of here!"

"Right. Let's-"

Suddenly, a boy dressed as a samurai jumped out of the trees, pointing a sword at Luigi's face. Luigi jumped back quickly.

"I am looking for the trainer from Pallet!"

"Me?" Ash asked. "Didn't I battle you two years ago?"

"I mean the other trainer from Pallet! The one with the shiny Raichu that stays out of its Poke Ball."

"_He's heard of us! Awesome!_"

"That's me," Luigi said. "What's with the katana?"

"..." The boy sheathed his sword. "I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!"

Luigi looked at Luke. "Lai!" Luke nodded, grinning.

"I accept," Luigi said. He didn't really know exactly what was going on, beyond that it was something that Luke wanted to do that was kind of like magic wrestling or something.

"I'll be the referee," Ash said. "Alright, this will be a one-on-one match, since Luigi only has Luke. Samurai, choose your Pokemon."

The boy took out a Poke Ball, and threw it in front of him. "Go, Butterfree!"

"Pwii!"

"A giant butterfly..." Luigi scratched his chin in thought. "So... Rain Dance!"

Luke glowed and did a little dance, causing rain to start falling.

"Sleep Powder!" Samurai quickly yelled. Butterfree, unperturbed by the rain, flew over Luke, sparkling powder falling on the large mouse. Luke instantly fell asleep, mumbling something about lemons tasting good.

"But the rain... How... Shake it off!" Luigi yelled, but to no avail as Luke continued to sleep.

"I'm not sure Luigi knows what he's doing," Ash said to Pikachu quietly.

"Pi."

"Butterfree, use Giga Drain!" Samurai shouted. Butterfree's antennae glowed green, and bolts on energy shot from its head to Luke, draining some of his energy.

"_Ow..._" Luke said groggily as he woke up.

"You're awake, good..." Luigi sighed in relief. "Let's see... Rain means Luke's already wet, and Butterfree can probably take more than Luke, so... Iron Tail!"

"Harden!" Butterfree glowed like it was made of metal for a second just as Luke hit it, deflecting Luke's attack. "Now, use Bug Buzz!" Red waves began emanating from Butterfree. Luke clutched his ears as the sound weakened him, before collapsing to the ground. Luigi rushed over to pick his friend up into his arms.

"Luke, are you okay?"

"_I lost,_" Luke said simply. "_It was fun, though._"

"Luke is unable to battle," Ash said a bit sadly. "Butterfree is the winner."

"Butterfree, return!" A beam of light shot out of Samurai's Poke Ball, sucking Butterfree back into it. "I expected a better battle than that."

"I'm new at this," Luigi said. "I usually fight my own battles." He looked worriedly at Luke, who smiled back.

"Fight your own battles? As in, sword-fighting?" Samurai asked interestedly.

"Martial arts, mostly," Luigi admitted.

"Ah. May we meet again." Samurai walked away without another word.

"... Any idea what that was about?" Luigi asked, as they resumed walking.

"He lives here, and waits for new trainers to battle," Ash told Luigi. "That's really all there is to it."

"I see."

"Yeah... We should be in Pewter City fairly soon. Hey, maybe... Why not battle Brock?"

"Why?" Luigi asked as Luke nodded enthusiastically.

"To improve your skills," Ash said happily. "But, first, you should probably catch another Pokemon."

"_A new friend!_"

"... Seeing as how both of you want me to, alright."

* * *

**(Ash)**

It didn't take particularly long for Luigi to find a Pokemon, a Weedle to be exact. A Weedle that apparently made a habit of lifting and throwing objects many times heavier than itself, if its extremely short battle (involving throwing him repeatedly at a tree) with Luke was any indication. Then again, Ash reminded himself, Luke was still somewhat weak from the battle, and even more enthusiastic about battling than he was.

Luigi sighed, setting Luke down on top of his head, and gave Weedle a bit of food before starting to walk off.

"Weedle!" Weedle jumped onto Luigi's back, and started nuzzling his head.

"... I should have done that from the start, shouldn't I have?" Luigi asked.

"Roy!" Luke protested.

"_Yeah, that would have worked._"

"Now all you have to do is catch it," Ash said.

"You want to come with me, little one?"

"Weed!"

"Right..." Luigi took out a Poke Ball, and touched it to Weedle's head. It was sucked inside, and caught quickly.

"Alright!" Ash grinned, grabbing Luigi's wrist and pulling his hand up in a victory pose. "You caught a Weedle!"

"... I'll do my own victory poses in the future, thanks," Luigi pulled his arm away from Ash. "Let's see, I'll call you... Casey!"

"Like that girl from Johto."

"... How is it that I've named both of them with the same name as people you know?"

"No idea. So, is Casey a girl?"

"I have no clue."

* * *

___ I'm sure a few people have questions of why Luigi's battle went the way it did. So, at the bottom of chapters, I'll put a little explanation detailing things that wouldn't be revealed otherwise.  
_

_**Luigi's Battle:** His first mistake was thinking that the rain from Rain Dance, which he was actually only guessing at the function of, would weigh down Butterfree's (and, yes, it is the Metapod Samurai had when he battled Ash) wings, forcing it to land. Unfortunately, that didn't work out. Secondly, in Mario, the "Sleep" status effect can be quite literally shaken off. His third mistake, which cost him the battle, was that he thought the rain would cause Luke's electric attacks to hurt himself instead of Butterfree because of the conductivity of water._


	7. Chapter 7

**_Fyre_**_** Red:** Well, he'll try. But knowing Ash, teaching might be hard... Rambling? I'd prefer more rambling reviews, actually... Those are the kind I really like._**  
**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

**(Ash)**

They were able to reach Pewter City without further trouble.

"You should probably get Luke and Casey healed up at the Pokemon Center," Ash suggested. "I'll meet you there later."

"And get more food to satisfy both of your appetites," Luigi deadpanned. "I'll be going now."

"... Uh, do we eat a lot, Pikachu?"

"_... Maybe. Hey, what's with the crowd?_" Pikachu pointed towards the center of town, where there was indeed a crowd

"Let's go see!" Ash ran to the crowd, to see that they were gathered in around a small area set aside for battle with a trainer he'd never seen before standing in the middle. He was wearing a red hat, brim backwards; sunglasses; a firey-print black shirt; and jeans; with a Quilava standing just by him. From the looks of things, he'd been battling and was on a winning streak.

"Who here can beat me?" The brown-haired boy yelled. "The Yo'ster and I can take any of you on, no problem! Here and now!"

"Who's that?" Ash asked a boy standing next to him.

"Mikey. He's a new trainer from the Johto Region, a bit full of himself, really, but he definitely has talent. He beat Forrest easily."

"A new trainer..." Ash looked at Pikachu.

"_Let's do it!_"

"Hey, Mikey!" Ash yelled.

"Yo, dude with the red hat! You wanna battle?"

"Yes! One-on-one!"

"Radical!"

"... Does anyone even say that anymore?" Ash whispered to Pikachu as he and Mikey got into place. One of the people watching stepped out to referee.

"Alright, let's get this party started!" Mikey yelled. "Choose your Pokemon, Mister..."

"Ash Ketchum."

"Right, I'll call you Mr. Tree-K. Dig?"

"... Uh..."

"Anyways, time for moi to totally smoke you! Let's go, Yo!"

"Quil!" The Quilava, apparently named 'Yo', jumped into the middle of the field.

"Pikachu, I CHOOSE YOU!"

"_Ready__!_"

"Gnarly! Yo'ster, let's start this off with Quick Attack!"

"Be quicker, Pikachu!"

Pikachu and the Quilava rushed at each other, colliding mid-field. Yo was sent flying, and slammed into the ground near Mikey. It got up quickly, ready for more.

"It won't be that slick! Yo, use Ember!" It opened its mouth, sending out little pellets of fire at Pikachu.

"Dodge and use ThunderShock!" Pikachu jumped upwards, and delivered a powerful ThunderShock to Yo.

"Still ready, Yo?" Mikey asked. Yo'ster got up, more determined than ever. "Right, let's pwn this noob! Use Heat Wave!" Yo'ster opened its mouth and sent a wave of heat at Pikachu, hitting him dead-on.

"You alright, Pikachu?" Ash asked. "No burns?"

"_I'm fine. Let's stop messing with him, alright?_"

"Right. Time to stop playing around! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Pika..." Pikachu charged electricity in his cheeks, preparing to release.

"Get moving!" Mikey yelled. "Don't make-"

"CHU!" Pikachu let loose a huge bolt of electricity, hitting Yo'ster before it had a chance to move. Yo'ster collapsed, swirls in its eyes.

"Quilava is unable to battle!" The referee said. "Pikachu is the winner."

"... Thank you so much for playing, Yo'ster." Mikey took out a Poke Ball. "Return, and have a nice rest." Yo'ster was sucked back into its Poke Ball, and Mikey walked up to shake Ash's hand.

"That battle was mondo groovy, yo," Mikey said as he shook Ash's hand. "Battling you again would be outrageous! Gotta jet." Mikey took off, without even giving Ash time to reply.

"_He's very odd,_" Pikachu noted as he climbed back to Ash's shoulder. Ash nodded, and began walking to the Pokemon Center to meet up with Luigi.

* * *

They found Luigi sitting in the lobby of the Pokemon center, watching Luke and Casey interact. Luke had a very annoyed look on his face, and the Weedle was giggling.

"What's going on?" Ash asked Luigi.

"Casey's..." Luigi trailed off. "Well, Luke tried asking if Casey was a boy or a girl. It got a really weird look on its face, and started laughing. Not like 'I can't believe you can't tell', more like 'Ha ha, I'm not telling you'. Everything else Luke says is met with prettymuch the same response. So, how's it been going for you?"

"Met someone, had a battle. He said stuff like 'radical' and 'mondo' a lot, and his Pokemon was named 'Yo'. What kind of name is Yo?"

"Chinese. Anyway, weren't we going to go meet your friend?"

"That's right. Come on, I'll show you where he lives."

Luigi got up, and motioned for Luke and Casey to follow. While nobody was looking, Casey spit on the back of Luke's head.

"Roy-"

"Casey, be nice," Luigi said without turning around.

A few minutes and several arguments between Luke and Casey later, they reached the Pewter City Gym; where they found a certain teenage boy with ever-closed eyes and spiky hair waiting out front.

"Ash!" He yelled as soon as he saw the boy.

"Hi, Brock," Ash greeted cheerfully. "You knew I was coming?"

"Yes, your mom wanted me to give you the X-transceiver she bought for you. You know, the one you were supposed to come home to get," Brock took out what seemed to be a small digital watch, and strapped it to Ash's wrist. "And that's so you don't forget."

"Oh... Thanks Brock! Oh, this is Luigi. He wants to battle you."

"I don't really-"

"RAI-CHA!" Luke cried enthusiastically. "Rairai!"

"... But Luke apparently wants to, and I think Casey wants to too."

"Weedledledledle..." Casey laughed, a mischevous look on its face.

"Alright, but we'll have to move it inside, and I'm not the Gym Leader anymore." Brock said, turning around. "Let's go."

* * *

_Mikey's dialogue was... A bit painful to write. I had to make it seem really outdated. He's going to be Ash's main rival this time around. He's also relevant to resolving the plot, so watch him closely._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Fyre Red:**__ No, they won't. Luigi and Pikachu can probably keep the other two in line until their third traveling companion turns up, but it'll be a while before that happens. Not for me, I like ranting reviews. A lot._

_Also, I'm going to start adding more things at the bottom of chapters to foreshadow stuff and confuse you all. I'm honestly surprised how far along I've developed the plot... Also, Luigi's currently planned Pokemon, including the two he already has, are Electric, Bug, Normal, and Ice type. Not telling you what they all are yet, though.  
_

_Also, edited the last chapter, because I forgot to finish Mikey's visual description.  
_

**Chapter 8**

* * *

**(Luigi)**

"Where's Forrest?" Ash asked, looking around the Gym.**  
**

"Trying to get breakfast. So, will you referee, Ash?"

"You bet!" Ash grinned, running to the side of the strange court inside the dark gym.

"Alright," Brock said. "This will be a two-on-two battle, for training, correct?"

"Yes."

"_We'll kick your butt!_" Luke exclaimed.

"Ash, if you would..."

"This will be a two-on-two battle," Ash announced. "Between Brock Harrison, former leader of the Pewter Gym; and the challenger Luigi... whatever your last name is. Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon. Ready?"

Luigi nodded.

Brock took out a Poke Ball, and threw it. "Go! Sudowoodo!" The ball released a strange creature about three feet tall. It looked very strange, almost like a tree made from rock wearing a smiley face.

"You up for it, Luke?" Luigi asked.

"_Am I ever!_" Luke jumped forward. "_Bring it on, tree-rock-dude-guy-thing!_"

"Sudowoodo!"

"Since you're new to training, I'll let you have the first move. Sound fair?"

"Uh... I guess so," Luigi said. "Hmm... Uh... Shock him?"

"_THUNDERTHUNDERHEREWEGO!_" Luke yelled, sending a massive thunder attack onto Sudowoodo. As the smoke cleared, Sudowoodo could be seen still standing there without apparent harm and a burned spot on the ground two feet to the left.

"Your Raichu... Luke, was it? He doesn't seem to be very experienced. He obviously has some powerful moves at his disposal, which is good, but he's not strong enough yet to make good use of them," Brock supplied. "Get Ash to call me on the X-transceiver if you ever need help with that."

"And I'll help you too!" Ash piped up.

"... Which means..."

"You'll have to use strategy with his other moves to win this battle. I'll wait until you think of something before I attack."

"Crud." Luigi took out his Pokedex to try and figure out exactly what Luke's moves did. "We're inside, so that's probably no good... And that didn't work out so well the last time... So... Luke, try Quick-Attack, repeatedly and lots of times in a row!"

Luke was off in a streak of light, slamming into Sudowoodo before he had a chance to react, again and again.

"Mimic!" Brock shouted to Sudowoodo. "Now!"

Sudowoodo was off, zipping up to Luke and knocking him out of his Quick Attack and into Luigi's arms.

"_I lost again... There's always next time, right?"_

"Weedledledledledledle!"

"_Why are you laughing? You know it's your turn next, right?_"

"Weedle!" Casey came into the middle of the court with surprising speed.

"Alright..." Luigi tailed off, unsure of himself. He pointed the Pokedex at Casey, to try and see what its moves were.

"**Weedle. The stinger on this Pokémon's head guarantees that any attacker will get the point right where it hurts. Weedle's only known move is String Shot.**"

"Knowing my luck, that probably doesn't do any damage."

"... Well..." Ash trailed off, telling Luigi all he needed to know.

Luigi sighed. "Casey, just... Do whatever."

Casey zipped up to Sudowoodo, flipped him over its back, and slammed him into a wall. When Sudowoodo was not defeated, Casey proceeded to throw it halfway across the room and slam him into another wall. Sudowoodo collapsed, swirls in his eyes.

"Sudowoodo is... Unable to battle?"

"... O-kay... I'll pretend that made sense," Brock said. "Sudowoodo, return!" Sudowoodo was returned to his Poke Ball. "Have a nice rest, buddy. Go, Geodude!"

A small, floating, round rock with two arms and a face appeared out of Brock's second Poke Ball, proclaiming "Geodude! Dude!" eagerly. Casey jumped on top of him and slammed him into the ground, then prying him out with its tail and slamming him into the wall.

"Dude!" Geodude hopped up. "Geodude!"

"Good! Geodude, Tackle!"

"Dude!" Geodude rushed towards Casey, fully intending on tackling the bug. Casey took that opportunity to shoot a string out of its mouth, wrapping up Geodude before he reached it. It started spinning around on the spot before flinging Geodude into the wall again.

"I think I've figured out Casey's style," Luigi said dryly.

"_It throws its opponents at walls._"

"Dude!" Geodude got up once more, ready to continue.

"Weedle," Casey said tauntingly. "Weedleweedle, weed!"

"Geodude, Mega Punch!" Geodude's fist glowed, and he zipped forward to punch Casey. For once, the attack actually connected, and Casey was sent flying... Only to flip over in midair, use String Shot on Geodude's arm, and slam him into the wall behind Luigi for an end to the battle.

"Geodude is... unable to battle. Casey is the winner, which means the match goes to Luigi...?" Ash was clearly confused at Casey's strength.

"Weedle!"

"Geodude, return." Brock walked up to Luigi. "That was a good battle... I think I have a good idea of where you need to improve. Luke, while he seems to be very loyal to you, needs to work on his strength and accuracy. Your Weedle is the other way around, though. It's ususually strong, but not at all trained. It won through its own decisions, rather than your own. You need to be able to come up with strategies for your Pokemon to use, and they follow - That's the only way you can be sure of doing things right."

"Okay," Luigi nodded. "I'm not sure I want to... Well, Luke and Casey love battling, it seems, but I'm not really all that into the idea..."

"I see..." Brock scratched his chin. "Well, remember, you can always call me for help."

"Or ask me!" Ash piped up.

"_Or me!_"

"Weedledledle..." Casey laughed evilly.

"_... Casey freaks me out,_" Luke whispered.

Luigi nodded. "I'll ask if I need help with anything... But this isn't really my priority... I've got a lot of things going on right now."

"I understand," Brock said. "So, anyway, would either of you like-"

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?" A familiar voice said from the shadows above.

"It's speaking to me loud and clear." Another familiar voice responded, as Jessie and James dropped into the room.

* * *

_Cassidy and Botch had run into trouble on their latest mission. Not the usual trouble, either. Instead of a kid with a hyperstrong Pikachu, it was some blue-eyed punk in a cape who called himself a superhero._

_And a super-strength mech-suit or something, judging by his own words and his tendency of tossing boulders to intimidate them._

_"Who are you?" Cassidy spat as Bob started saying something about people getting his name wrong._

_"I am the bane of blight, turning darkness into light!" the boy yelled hamtastically. "I stop evil for fair, I'm your worst nightmare! Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace; evil, I'm in your face! I am Supyro!"_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Fyre Red:** Casey is an anomaly, just like Ash's Pikachu and Brock's Chansey. Its abilities are so far out of the norm for its species that it can pull off unheard-of stunts.  
_

_**Announcements time!** One: I got a guinea pig! His name is Lyle, he's three months old, and he's a black Abyssinian Guinea Pig. Two: Starting a chapter or two from now, these chapters are going to be starting to get longer. Three: All of Ash's previous traveling companions will be part of the cast for a time, but only one of them will be on a long-term basis.  
_

**Chapter 9**

* * *

**(Luigi)**

"On the wind!" Jessie continued.

"Past the stars!"

"In your ear!" Meowth interjected.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace," Jessie continued.

"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place,"

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet," Jessie said as James took out a rose.

"When everything's worse, our work is complete."

"Jessie!"

"And it's James!"

"And Meowth, now dat's a name!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place..."

"...we're Team Rocket..."

"IN YOUR FACE!" All three finished in unison.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet saluted, coming out of his Pokeball once more. Jessie didn't even turn around as she returned him.

"Hold up, what's with all these different... Mottos, I think Ash calls them?" Luigi asked.

"We're trying to see which ones our fans like best and want to see us use in this fan fiction," Meowth said, breaking the fourth wall. "This is our second-to-last one we're trying out."

"Just get to it now..." Luigi sighed.

"... Someone..." Jessie started, flabberghasted.

"... wants to..."

"... hear our motto?" Meowth finished, agape.

"Yes. Will you please get on with it?"

"What a question, twerpish indeed!" Jessie yelled.

"We'll answer these questions when we feel the need!"

"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!"

"Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!"

"Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity!" Meowth added.

"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!"

"And with thunderous emotion, I am James!"

"Wisest of the wise, Meowth!"

"And now gather, under the name of Team Rocket!" All three yelled in unison to an empty room.

"Uh... I think they ditched us halfway through..." James sweatdropped.

"Why those little..."

"Hey, at least we got ta finish this part oily. Now we just gotta wait for tha readers to pick."

"YOU CAN BREAK THE FOURTH WALL AFTER WE CATCH THAT PIKACHU!"

"Typical Jessie..." James said nervously.

* * *

**(Ash)**

Luigi jogged into the rugged, tree-filled terrain en route for Cerulean City, his panting companions close behind.

"Do you do this to that Bowser guy too?" Ash asked, as he tried his hardest to keep up.

"No. He's generally more of a threat," Luigi said shortly.

"Bowser?" Brock asked. "Who's that?"

"Oh, he's just some evil guy from Luigi's world that he and his brother beat a lot." Ash said before Luigi had a chance to stop him.

"His world?" Brock asked breathlessly, "Where are you from?"

"... It was _supposed_ to be a secret," Luigi glared at Ash.

"... Lai-cha," Luke said from his position in Luigi's arms. "Roy, rai-chu lai ka roy-chu."

"... Great, him too. Anyway, I'll explain things to you shortly, Brock."

"Right..." Brock took a deep breath, "Can we stop?"

Luigi tried to stop, sliding nearly six feet before coming to a stop. "Now, are you ready for the whole story?"

"Yes," Brock said.

"Rai lai-chu, Churairai?" Luke asked, concerned. "Raichu-i."

"It's nothing, Luke. So, Brock, this is how it is..."

Brock understood what was going on much easier than Ash had. He seemed a bit _too_ excited while Luigi was explaining about the princesses he knew, but otherwise handled everything in a much calmer and more mature manner than Ash. Until Luigi finished, that is.

"What about Peach? Is she cute? Do you think I'll be able to meet her?" Brock asked, hearts in his eyes. "Ooh, or Daisy... And that Rosalina girl sounds wonderful!"

"You do know that the first two are only half human and the third is four thousand years old, right?"

"Right, right," Brock said, a blissful grin on his face.

"_Typical..._"

"Raichu."

"Don't worry, he does this all the time," Ash reassured Luigi. "He should be better as soon as he realizes that there aren't actually pretty girls here with us." Casey giggled at Ash's comment.

True to Ash's word, Brock was normal within the minute.

"Interesting..." Brock rubbed his chin. "I think I see what's going on here... Judging by what you told me, you and your brother are normally very carefree, and generally have as much fun as you can while traveling. You obviously love your brother very much. If I had to guess, you're scared. Both of traveling without him, and also for him. You don't know what happened to him, do you?"

Luigi shook his head. "No... I don't. And that's what's got me worried. I can sense Mario... I know where he is; and whether or not he needs my help... But... Ever since I landed in this world... Nothing."

"That's terrible..." Brock trailed off. "Then it's settled. I'll accompany you two for a few days!"

"But, Brock, what about-"

"I was planning on leaving for Pokemon Medical School anyway, right after I gave you the X-transceiver. I've already said my goodbyes, and it's in the same direction you're going, so it'll be fine!" Brock interrupted Ash, grinning.

"Oh... In that case, this is great! Don't you think so, Luigi?"

Luigi shrugged. "I'm going to go train with Luke and Casey now." He walked off, Luke in his arms and Casey waiting to blow a raspberry at Pikachu before following.

"_What was that?_"

"... It's not very friendly, is it?" Brock asked.

* * *

**(Luigi)**

"Okay," Luigi said, once he found a sufficiently open space. "Now, what we're doing here is very simple. We're going to work on your accuracy hitting a moving target with an attack."

"_What moving target?_" Luke asked.

"Me," Luigi said simply. "All you have to do is try and hit me, while I dodge your attacks."

Casey did its odd-sounding maniacal laugh.

"On three," the green-clad boy said. "One... two... Three, and go!"

Luke wasted no time in sending a thundershock at Luigi, but Luigi simply rolled out of the way. Casey tried to hit him with String Shot, but didn't even manage to come close. This went on for quite awhile, Luigi effortlessly dodging all of their attempts. They did manage to get closer and closer to hitting them, but Luigi was always a step ahead. Finally, after half and hour, he told them to stop.

"You did very well," Luigi said.

"_We didn't even hit you once._" Luke pointed out, while Casey just sulked.

"True, but that wasn't what I wanted you to do. I wanted you to try - You came a lot closer than I expected, actually, especially you, Luke. Good job, both of you."

"_Oh... Uh, Thanks?_"

"Anyway... Who's ready for lunch?"

Luigi watched Luke and Casey dash back towards where they'd stopped. He chuckled, following them as well.

* * *

_"Outsmarted easily, boss." One of the two figures that had just entered the darkened room said._

_"Just as expected..." the figure in the chair said, "Be sure that you keep an eye on them. He CANNOT be allowed to fall into their hands."  
_

_"Understood. We'll continue watching." The two figures left the dark room, leaving their boss alone.  
_

_"If he does, everything will be lost..."  
_


	10. Chapter 10

_Got a nice amount of candy last night. I know this chapter came a bit fast, but I just couldn't wait for everyone to review before posting it. So, ah... Well, here you go. Extra chapter, I guess.  
_

_Lotsa exposition here. Some of it you already know, some you don't. This is actually longer than I'd expected.  
_

**Chapter 10**

* * *

_One week ago, in another world._..

Mario pounded on the door of a strangely-shaped yellow building, Princess Peach panting as she ran to catch up to him. "Mario, what's going on?"

"Luigi, that's what! Bowser sent him to another world! And I've got to-" The door opened to reveal a little old man in a lab coat, who quickly jumped back to avoid Mario's continued pounding. "-get him back! Elvin, where... Oh." Mario put his hand down after seeing that Professor Elvin Gadd had had, indeed, opened the door.

"Yes."

"... Whoops."

"What's this about my apprentice?" E. Gadd asked. "Another world? Come in, explain."

* * *

Mario took a sip of the tea the professor had prepared for him. "Well, it's like this. A few days ago, Luigi went missing. No idea why, or how, until Bowser kidnapped Peach. Again. So, I called off my search for Luigi for a few hours-"

"And thank goodness you did before you leveled more buildings..."

"I rebuilt them! Anyway, I saved her. Again. Beat Bowser, as usual... Then he let slip that he sent Luigi to another dimension. I figured that since you built that Time Radar thing, you could find Luigi and then I could pop in and get him out of there. Do you have anything?"

Elvin nodded. "Follow me, posthaste." He led them through the incredibly cluttered laboratory, dodging around colorful machines as though it were second nature. He led Mario and Peach into one of the several rooms branching off from the laboratory, where there was a device that immediately caught Mario's attention: A huge metal hoop with brightly colored lights all over it mounted to the wall, with stairs leading up into it and a computer terminal embedded in the wall next to it. E Gadd took out a handheld device, red in color and with two screens folding onto each other, and opened it. He began entering commands into it.

"The 3DS Horror has a dimensional radar function, a step up from the previous time radar," E. Gadd explained. "Let's see... If I do this... And that... Luigi's Star signature should be enough to find him, so... Got him!"

"Where's my brother?"

"Hold your horses, youngster, I'm working on that. Let's see... His current dimension is the one I have designated as PKMN-2. Ah, good, very good. I have plenty of information to work off of for you to get him back..."

"Can't you just pull him back?" Peach asked.

"I'm afraid it's not that easy," E. Gadd said. "I have barely enough power to open a portal for a few minutes, and I have no way of knowing exactly where in the world my portal will open. Only way to get him is for someone to go in after him, watch him, and stay undercover until I can get him back."

"Why stay undercover?" Mario asked. "I'm not exactly known there, right?"

"Well, no, you aren't. However, I doubt that Bowser would have sent Luigi to that world unless he had a contact there - As I'll explain in a minute, creatures of great power live there, and many of them would be willing to help Luigi return home. Bowser probably has a contact, who in turn probably has a plan for if you show up. So, you'll have to be undercover. My technology can help you fit in quite easily, so no problem there."

"I see... Well, Peach, are you ready for an adventure?" Mario asked.

"Oh, Mario, you-"

"That won't work," E. Gadd said, shaking his head. "Peach's presence might be even more of an alert than yours, Mario. They have handheld devices that can scan DNA to pinpoint which species someone is, and provide information on their species. Since Peach isn't pure human, attention would be brought to her almost immediately, which almost certainly would cause Bowser's contact to act."

"Oh... I see..." Mario trailed off. "Hmm... Going alone might be a bad idea, though... Could you come, E. Gadd?"

The professor shook his head. "I'm afraid not, my boy, for two reasons. One is that I am the only one who knows how to operate this machinery; and the other is that, while I am mostly human, I still have enough non-human blood in me to be noticeable."

"Oh... So that leaves... Wario and Waluigi?"

"Wario's one-quarter elf, and Waluigi's not human at all."

"Daisy?"

"Half-Dayzee."

"Wario's employees?"

"I honestly have no idea, but probably not."

Mario sighed. "Do you know of ANY pure humans besides Luigi and me?"

"No, and I'm quite sorry about that," E. Gadd said, pulling a smaller, white handheld device out of his labcoat. "However, we'll still be able to help you. If you take the DS Horror, I can keep in contact with you. And there are several functions on it that can help you, as well, so take a look once you get there."

"Right," Mario said, taking it and putting it away. "I'm ready to go. Peach, I'll-"

"No, you aren't, youngster." E. Gadd said. "First, I have to do some exposition about this world you'll be going into, so that you can safely pass yourself off as a native."

Mario nodded.

"The first thing you have to understand is that, in this world, humans can randomly have powers. However, compared to the powers any species can have in this world, they're very limited. Psychics, aura-users, and magicians are as far as it goes, and all three are uncommon. Your powers would draw a lot of attention, so make sure you keep it on the down-low. Now, second part to understand: This world is populated by strange creatures, known as Pokemon. There are over six hundred species of Pokemon; each falling into seventeen elemental types. Don't worry about them right now, I'll just create an application for the DS Horror and send it to you after you're there. Many people in this world are Pokemon Trainers, who capture Pokemon in Poke balls, and bring them along with them for companionship and to enter several different types of competitions. Most notably, and what I believe you'd be most interested in, Pokemon Battles. These are friendly competitions in which two trainers send out their Pokemon to have a battle, which lasts until one trainer's Pokemon is unable to continue battling. You'll figure it out. There's much more I'll explain later, but that's the basics. Now... Are you truly ready, Mario?"

Mario remained silent for a moment. "... Yes, professor. I am."

Elvin nodded. "I'll fire up the portal. Say your goodbyes to Peach." He walked over to the terminal embedded in the wall, and started typing.

Mario turned to his friend. "So... This is it, for now. I'll be gone for... Who knows how long."

"Yeah."

"Well... Goodbye, Peach. And if Bowser kidnaps you... Well, I'm sure Yvan and Wolley will be willing to help out again."

"Yeah..." Peach sighed. "I'll miss you, Mario. Be careful."

"Don't worry," Mario grinned. "I'm Super Mario! What's the worst that could happen?"

Peach giggled. "That's the Mario I know."

Light filled the hoop on the wall, a swirling vortex of yellow and red appearing within.

"Take care, Peach, Elvin," Mario said, walking towards the portal with the DS Horror.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot!" E. Gadd turned off the portal, and dashed out of the room. Seconds later, he was back with a backpack. "Here, take this subspace backpack I made. It'll draw less attention, and you can fit just about anything in the secret compartments. I've also taken the liberty of putting a headset in there, so you can talk to me with the DS Horror in the backpack."

"Uh, thanks," Mario said, putting the backpack on. "Anything else?"

"You can't let anyone know where you're from. Not even Luigi can know that you're you, so make your disguise good. Also... There are no power stars there, so you'll only keep some of your power. I predict that you'll keep your strength, because it's your most prominent power; and your fire power because it's not powered by the stars. But your speed and durability probably aren't going to be anything more than slightly above the high end of normal, and your jumps will probably be powered-down but still super. Luigi, I would assume, is probably keeping his jumping and durability in full, with his strength sapped and his speed cut down a lot. So, be careful."

"Don't worry, both of you." Mario said, determination in his eyes. "I can deal with it."

"I know," Peach said. Elvin walked over to the terminal, and opened the portal once more.

"Take care, Mario," Gadd said.

"I will. Call me sometime." Mario started walking up to the portal. Just before he entered, he turned to Peach. "Don't get kidnapped too much, alright?"

Peach smiled. "I'll try. Good luck, Mario."

"Here I go..." Mario took a deep breath, and stepped through the portal.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Fyre Red:** I forgive you, don't worry. And yes, yes I do. I see. Brock, when will he ever learn... And that's an odd quote.  
_

_Man... I FINALLY watched Wreck-it-Ralph, finished a few hours ago. It's a great movie, loved it.  
_

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Luigi yawned, sitting up in his tent and rubbing his eyes. Yesterday hadn't been particularly eventful, after eating lunch they had simply continued on their way for a few hours before reaching the base of a mountain his new friends called "Mount Moon". He looked to the sleeping bag Luke had claimed, seeing that the young Raichu was still asleep. Luigi jumped into a standing position, and walked outside to see Brock cooking a meal over the campfire they had made.

"Good morning, Luigi," Brock said, without looking up.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Ash and Pikachu never wake up this early."

"... So that is normal for them, then."

"Yep." Brock stirred something in his frying pan. "We're having scrambled eggs for breakfast, by the way."

"That's nice," Luigi looked up the mountain. "I think I'm going to go get some training in... Make sure I haven't gotten rusty."

Brock was puzzled for a moment before remembering exactly what Luigi said was a normal day for him. "Ah. Alright. See you in a half-hour or so. If Ash or Luke wakes up, I'll tell them where you went."

"Thanks. What about Pikachu?"

"He'll just go back to sleep if Ash isn't up."

Luigi nodded. "I'll be on top of the mountain. See you later," Luigi crouched down and jumped upwards onto a ledge partway up the mountain, jumping to another one as soon as he landed. Within moments, he was out of sight and on his way.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Ash woke up. He groggily stumbled out of the tent, grabbed some eggs, and began eating. Thirty seconds later, Pikachu followed him, and pointed out that Ash wasn't using a fork or a plate. Five minutes later, Luke finally came out of the tent... wrapped from head to toe in white string, with Casey giggling behind him.

"Casey!" Brock scolded the Weedle. "No, that's not nice! Oh, Luke... Luigi's training on top of the mountain. Making sure he doesn't get rusty, he says. Come on, I'll get you out of that..."

"Rai..." Luke said sadly, his voice muffled by the string shot. Brock started pulling the webbing off of Luke, but was interrupted by a shadow passing overhead and a net pulling Luke, Pikachu, and Casey into the sky at lightning-fast speed.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"To protect the world-"

"Team Rocket!" Ash yelled. "Give them back!"

"Hrnnn..." Jessie's eye twitched. "LET US FINISH OUR MOTTO! As I was saying, To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation..." James said nervously.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast of at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight fight fight!"

"Meowth, dat's right!"

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash yelled. Pikachu tried to cut open the net, but it didn't work.

"Nice try, twoip," Meowth laughed. "But we took every precaution so yous and your friends wouldn't be able to get us! The balloon's too high for the bouncy twoip to jump to or for the big twoip's Pokemon, and we knows you don't have any of your boids with you!"

"Yes, and we're also completely shock-proof!" James exclaimed. "We made sure not to leave any weaknesses!"

"How does it feel to lose? Oh, wait, we already know!" Jessie laughed. "Now it's your turn!"

The trio all began laughing smugly and simultaneously.

* * *

Luigi attempted to sweetspot his punch on a tree for the ninety-ninth time, once more getting nothing but a coin for his troubles. Once more, rounding out for a full one hundred coins and an extra life, he tried to perform his powerful firey punch, but to no avail.

Luigi gave up, sighing. Apparently he couldn't sweetspot his punches anymore... At least he could still get coins, so that was a plus. Never knew when you'd need an extra life. He decided to move onto another ability, to see if it still worked. He crouched down, charging his power. After a few seconds, he released all his power into an explosion... That did not, as he'd wanted it to, send him flying through the air at high speed. Instead, he just got covered in ash.

Green Missile was a no-go, then. He was running out of things to try out... He picked up a rock, wound up for a pitch, and spun around to throw it into a tornado. Instead of that, however, it just spun around at hit the tree. Just two more until he was out of moves to test... This was not going well, not at all. He thrust his right hand forward, getting nothing but a puff of smoke instead of the usual weak green fireball.

"And that means all that's left is..." Luigi spun on the spot, nearly losing his balance and going nowhere near as fast as he intended to. "...Spinning."

Luigi just stood there for a few seconds before lashing out at a nearby boulder with his hammer. "GAH! Nothing works!" His hammer slammed against the rock, cracking it. "No speed!" He hit the rock again. "No fire punch!" Once more, the rock cracking even more. "No green missile!" He slammed the hammer down on the rock, shattering it into a million pieces. "Nothing but jumps, Thunderhand, and my hammer!" He huffed, before noticing the broken rock and quickly calming himself down.

"I just don't know... how will I do this?" Luigi asked, looking to the morning sky. "I'm stuck in an unfamiliar place... I don't know why I'm here, I don't know how, and I don't know where Mario is. I have friends, but..." Luigi sighed. "Did I even bring power-ups with me? Will they even WORK here?" Luigi sat down on a rock. "Well... At least this place is calm," he brightened up a bit. "No great evil threatening the world every week... No omnicide-obsessed monsters... Doesn't even seem to be much by the way of villains with those three... And I do have friends with me. I've worked without Mario by my side before... I guess I'll just have to learn to do it again." Luigi stood up, determination in his eyes. "I can do this! For my new friends, and for my brother!" He jumped down the mountain, fully intending to rejoin his friends.

* * *

Team Rocket had continued laughing all through Ash and Brock trying to get Pikachu, Casey, and Luke down with their other Pokemon.

"How long has this been going on?" Brock asked, recalling his Chansey, a pink egg-shaped Pokémon with a pouch holding an egg.

"I think it's been about fifteen minutes..." Ash said. "Don't they need to breathe?"

Jessie, James, and Meowth just continued with their maniacal laughter.

Luigi walked to Ash from the mountain, looking up and gaping at the terrible trio. "How long have Pikachu and Luke been in there?"

"Fifteen minutes," Brock supplied.

"And they're still here. Stars, they're stupid," Luigi said.

"Yep," Ash said.

"Prettymuch sums it up."

"Casey, use String Shot!" Luigi yelled. "Shoot it down here!"

Team Rocket just laughed harder as Casey shot the string straight to Luigi. Luigi grabbed the thread, and began trying to pull the balloon down. "Little help, guys?"

Brock sent Chansey out again. The pink egg-shaped Pokémon grabbed the string right in front of Luigi, and yanked Team Rocket's balloon to the ground with a single tug.

"Oww..." Jessie said, getting up from being slammed into the ground.

"... Oops. Looks like we _did_ make a mistake..."

Luigi got into a karate stance, glaring at the three.

"... Let's run now," James suggested.

"Agreed."

Jessie, James, and Meowth took off. "So long, twoips!" Meowth yelled. "We'll beat you next time!"

Luigi relaxed, smiling slightly. "Come on. Let's get going."

"Rai!" Luke exclaimed happily, jumping into Luigi's arms.

"And how do you plan to get better if I carry you everywhere?" Luigi asked, chuckling.

"Raichu, rai!"

"Really... Fine," Luigi smiled.

"You seem happier," Brock said, returning Chansey.

"I thought about things a bit," Luigi explained. "It helps."

"That's good!" Ash said happily. "Come on, Pikachu! Let's go!" Pikachu jumped on his shoulder as he ran ahead through the trees.

"Here we go again..." Brock ran to follow Ash.

"Let's... Hey, where's Casey?"

"Weedledledledle..." Casey's laugh came from somewhere in the trees.

"Roy..."

"Yes, we'll just let it follow us." Luigi said. "Hang on to your ears, here we go!" Luigi dashed off, quickly catching up with Brock and Ash, who were both intently reading the graffiti buildup on a sign.

"Hey, look at this one, Ash. It says 'Mikey is mondo groovy, Mr. Tree-K is totally meat!' Who even talks like that?"

Ash didn't answer, as he was reading something else. "Team Rocket wrote their motto here."

"Pika..." Pikachu said exasperatedly, facepalming.

"... Really?" Brock asked. "Those three are so..."

Luigi walked up to see what some of the graffiti was, and stopped short when he saw a certain pictograph language of mushrooms, stars, and various shapes. He stared at it for a moment, trying to decode the familiar script.

**Always near, Luigi.**

**Mario.  
**

It was in Mario's handwriting, too. Of course, Mario and Luigi's names weren't so easily translated to the Mushroom Kingdom's pictoscript. They symbols for Mario's name actually meant "red flame of justice"; while Luigi's meant "green thunder brother guy".

"What's so interesting about those pictures?" Brock asked. "Mushroom, star... Is that a campfire and a lightning-bolt?"

Luigi smiled wider than he had ever since he'd entered this world. "That's a message to me. From my brother."

"Rai?" Luke asked hopefully.

"Really?" Brock looked closely, somehow squinting even more than usual. "I can't make any sense of it."

"Well, it's not English. At least, not when written," Luigi said. "It's a common form of writing where I'm from."

"Ah. I see. Makes sense."

"Hey, guys. I found another Team Rocket motto. Looks kinda like their first one, but different. Some guy named Alanio."

"Pika-pikachu."

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?"

"Well," Luigi said, still grinning ear to ear. "Who's ready to go?"

"Rai!"

"Alright, let's-"

"Oh, hi, Ash." All three turned around to see a boy about as old as Brock, wearing a green shirt and red shorts. His hair was encircled by a red headband, and was an odd shade of dark green. In his arms, there was a strange, round, blue creature with large ears and a very happy smile on its face. "Are you going to visit Misty too?"

"Hi, Tracey. And I wasn't really planning on seeing Misty, but I guess it'll be fun." Ash smiled. "Oh, this is Luigi. He's traveling with me now."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Luigi," Tracey said, reaching forwards to shake Luigi's hand.

"Likewise," Luigi took his hand. "Oh, and this is Luke."

"Rairai!"

"And if you get covered in String Shot for no reason, that'd be Casey. It's around somewhere. Don't upset it."

Tracey chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind... I remember Ash's Charizard."

"He told me about him," Luigi said. "Casey... It's worse, let's just say that, and get going."

All present agreed, and Tracey got covered in String Shot for no reason. After taking a few minutes to get him out of the sticky string, Luigi and friends left to travel to Cerulean City.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Fyre Red:** Yes, I suppose so. He's going to be leaving next chapter, not staying long at all. Neither is Misty, if you were wondering. It's okay.  
_

_Sorry this took so long to update. As people may have noticed, I've updated my Mario & Sonic story. And this chapter is long, though I admit that I wrote it all today.  
_

**Chapter 12**

* * *

**(Luigi)**

Our heroes arrived in Cerulean City as the sun reached its zenith; and decided it was high time to stop at a Pokemon Center to eat. When they arrived, they were all, save Luke and Luigi himself, introduced to something new: how Luigi ate at a table.

Not to say that his table manners were bad, he was actually quite polite about it. Rather, it was the sheer magnitude of how much he ate when given the chance. By the end of their meal, Luigi had managed to devour five large bowls of various kinds of pasta, an entire pizza, four peaches, half a pound of lettuce, three milkshakes, a whole apple pie, a mango, a bag of cashews, and was working on a 10-pound hunk of cheese when they left for the Cerulean City Gym.

"Where did you learn your eating habits?" Tracey asked, wondering where Luigi put all of it.

Luigi chewed his bite of cheese, and swallowed. "My brother." As soon as he finished talking, he took another bite of cheese.

"Where does it all go?"

Luigi shrugged, continuing to eat his cheese as he walked.

"I can't believe that anyone can eat more than you, May, and Team Rocket put together," Brock whispered to Ash.

"Me neither," Ash was dumbstruck, though that wasn't really anything new.

"Pi-kachu..."

Luigi somehow managed to finish his cheese before they came across the Cerulean Gym. It was a large, dome-shaped building, brightly colored and with a huge model of some sort of white seal atop it.

Tracey knocked on the door, and the group was greeted by three teenage girls.

"Like, wow!" One of them, with long blonde hair and dressed in a red dress. "Tracey's here! Hi, Tracey!"

"And, like, Ash too." The one with short pink hair and an orange dress said. "And Pikachu! Like, so cute!"

"Oh, look, it's that guy who, like, tries to hit on us every time he's here." The third one, with long blue hair and a green dress, said. "And some new kid."

"Hello," Luigi said, waving. "I'm Luigi."

"Like, why don't you all come inside?" the blonde-haired one asked, leading them inside. "We've got, like, food."

"I don't think Luigi needs any more," Brock chuckled. "And on that note... YES! I'D LOVE TO COME INSIDE YOUR HOME AND EAT YOUR COOKING! AND MAYBE THEN WE CAN SHARE A ROMANTIC DINNER FOR FOUR! AND HOPEFULLY GET MARRIED AND LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER BECAUSE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND-"

Suddenly, a large blue frog-like creature popped out of one of Brock's Pokéballs, its arm glowing as it jabbed Brock in the butt. Croagunk grabbed Brock's foot, and dragged him back out of the gym.

Ash noticed Luigi's expression. "He'll be fine," he reassured him.

"Pika..."

"_Am I missing something?_" Luke asked.

Unfortunately, that cause the blue-haired girl to notice him. "Omigosh! It's, like, a shiny Raichu! SO CUTE!" She grabbed Luke and raised her up to face level. "How are you, little guy? Where'd you come from?"

"_Luigi? What's going on?_" Luke asked. "_Oh no... She's going to-_" His sentence was cut short as the blue-haired girl started hugging and squeezing him, mumbling about how adorable he was.

"Um..." Luigi trailed off, not sure how to react. "Miss..."

"Violet," the girl said, continuing to hug Luke.

"Violet. Would you mind... Well, letting go of my friend? He doesn't seem to like this very much." Indeed, Luke seemed quite nauseous.

"Oh! Totally!" Violet set Luke down, and he scrambled to hid behind Luigi.

"_I'm not a plush toy!_"

"Pika-pika."

"_... Oh. Well, at least you can share-_"

"Pi-kachu."

"_And you eloctrocuted her? That's not very nice!_"

"Thank you," Luigi said. "Um... I'll let them do the talking now."

"We wanted to visit Misty," Tracey explained. "Thought it might be nice. Ash, Luigi, and Brock are traveling together, and I met up with them while on my way, so... We decided to pay a visit!"

"Yeah!" Ash agreed. "And Luigi wants to have a battle!"

"Wha? Hey, I didn't-"

"Like, totally!" the yellow-haired one said. "But Misty, like, has a challenger right now. He, like, thinks that just using a fire Pokémon is, like, totally a good strategy!"

"And, like, he talks more outdated than we do!" The pink-haired one added.

"We're, like, not supposed to let people know that's, like, intentional, Lily!" Violet reminded her sister. "It's, like, part of our image! Like, tell them, Daisy?"

"Your name is Daisy?" Luigi asked the yellow-haired one.

"Like, yeah. Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Luigi said. "I just know someone named Daisy."

"Is she like me?"

"... Not exactly," Luigi said, remembering the slightly insane and incredibly boisterous tomboy princess.

"Hang on..." Ash said, having just processed something Lily had said. "The challenger... Is his name Mikey, and does he yell stuff like 'Yo', 'Mondo', and 'Groovy' a lot?"

"Like, totally!" Lily said. "How'd you know?"

"I've met him," Ash said simply. "I wonder-"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THAT'S YOUR ONLY POKEMON!?" A voice, very familiar to Ash, Tracey, and Pikachu, yelled.

"Misty," Tracey sweatdropped.

Luigi quickly opened the door marked as 'arena' and dashed in to see what was going on, and everyone (even Brock, who had somehow recovered and gotten inside) followed to see the scene that was inside. The arena itself was actually a rectangular pool in the center of the room, strange as that may seem.

On the close side of the arena was a boy, dressed as though he was a wannabe gangster. A red cap, jauntily perched backwards on his head, with a flame symbol clearly visible on the front; a flame-print shirt, baggy jeans, and flame-print sneakers. He was petting a strange mammal, long and thin with navy blue back fur, a creamy colored belly, and flames shooting out of its back. Luigi assumed that he was the 'Mikey' Ash had mentioned.

"Yo, Yo's the only Pokémon I've ever needed, dig?" Mikey asked. "Ya see, Yo here's a hop above the rest, a real stomper."

"Mikey," The girl on the other side said. She seemed to be about Ash's age, and was dressed in a yellow tank top, red suspenders, short denim shorts, and what Luigi thought was a frankly bizzare placement for a ponytail in her orange hair. "'Yo' is a fire-type Pokémon, and, according to what you've just told me, your _only_ Pokémon. This is a three-on-three battle, which means you need three Pokémon, preferably with a type advantage each to their name, not one Pokémon with a disadvantage!"

"Hey-ho, we'll turn this battle rightside down!" Mikey boasted. "We can flip-flop the sides of this battle_, _problema nonexista!"

"Are you trying to be incomprehensible?"

"No, no, not at all, signora," Mikey said. "Outrageous! No, I'm groovy, I'm cool, I'm frosty. Just want to have a mondo-fun battle!"

"... If you say so," Misty sighed. "Fine. Here's my second Pokémon, Horsea!" She threw a Pokéball, and out popped a large blue seahorse that settled into the water.

"Horsey, send a bubble at that Quilava!"

"Yo-ster, flipside up and flopside down with the groove!" Yo, as the creature seemed to be called, jumped up over the bubble Horsea had sent at it, and glowed before slamming down into the water creature with hyper speed.

"Interesting use of Quick Attack, I must say," Misty said. "Horsea, Water Gun!" Horsea sent a stream of water at the quilava.

"Yo, a-press down the stars!" Yo responded to Mikey, jumping up and opening its mouth the breathe a stream of stars at the Horsea.

"Dodge it!" Misty yelled, and Horsea complied, barely getting out of the way of the oncoming Swift attack.

"Hey, that's not afair!" Mikey yelled. "Swift is supposed to have funky-mondo accuracy!"

"Perfect accuracy or not, it can still be dodged," Misty said. "Might not be easy, but definitely within the realm of the possible."

"Crag. Let's make with the baby eyes, Yo!" Yo winked, and pink hearts flew from it to Horsea, surrounding the seahorse Pokémon and... Having absolutely no effect. The hearts fizzled out.

"... What?" Mikey asked, dumbfounded.

"You do know how Attract works, right?" Misty asked, hands on her hips, "Or do you use it like my friend Ash-" At this point, she actually noticed that Ash was standing in the gym, and did a double-take before ignoring him and continuing with her sentence, "-does, always sending it at Pokémon the same gender as yours?"

"... Horsea's a boy?" Mikey asked, clearly not having thought of that. Horsea seemed offended at Mikey's question.

"... YES!" Misty yelled.

"... Oh. Right. Um... Yo, let's take it to the fridge! Or the oven, in this case! FIRE BLAST!" The flames on Yo's back flared up, sending a powerful asterisk-shaped wall of flame towards Horsea. This time, Misty was a bit too surprised to tell Horsea to dodge.

Type effectiveness aside, Yo was quite a strong Pokemon. There was a reason Mikey had never needed another one. Horsea was knocked out by the attack, and recalled by Misty.

"Impressive..." Misty trailed off. "Let's see if you can take this! Go Staryu!" She threw another Pokéball, this one containing a sea-star like creature with a strange red gem in its center.

Mikey burst out laughing, his sunglasses nearly falling off. "That's your last line of defense? Seriously? I mean, come on! You sent out Starm-"

"Staryu, Swift."

"Huh? Yo, counter with your own!" Yo did so, and his Swift managed to be just a bit more powerful than Staryu's, who got hit with a single star.

"_I wanna learn that..._" Luke whispered. Luigi made a note to try and figure out how to teach him the move.

"Follow up with BubbleBeam!" Staryu sent a stream of bubbles at Yo, who dodged deftly.

"Nice try," Mikey said. "But I've trained Yo in the mondo art of dodging everything! I totally got plenty of experience!"

"Really..." Misty said sarcastically. "I really doubt that. Staryu, Rapid Spin!" Staryu jumped out of the water, and began spinning rapidly towards Yo.

"Finish this off with our second-best!" The flames on Yo's back grew larger and larger, before he shot an geyser of fire from his head at Staryu, scorching the poor sea star and taking it out in one hit.

"... What." That was the only response Misty had to seeing a trainer who had started but a week before, with no other Pokémon but his Quilava, have taught said Quilava to use Eruption.

"Oh yeah! Who da man?" Mikey turned around and began dancing. "I am! In your- Hey, Mista Tree-K! I'd challenge you to a battle, but I think Yo might be a bit tired. As soon as I get my Cascade Badge-" Misty threw it at him irritably, and he deftly caught it without turning around "-Toodles!" He picked up Yo, and ran out the door without a second thought.

"So... Ash," Misty said, walking over to the boy. "What brings you here?"

"My friend Luigi wants to-"

"No, I don't," Luigi interrupted. "I'd like to learn a bit more about battling, and I'm sure that Luke and Casey - my weedle, it's around somewhere - would, but I would prefer not to at the moment. Some tips would be nice, though."

"I'm not really up to a battle at the moment any... How long has Brock been flirting with my sisters over there? Anyway, back on topic. I'll get him in a minute. About how good are you at battling?"

"Terrible."

"... Does the word 'Type Advantage' sound familiar to you?"

"Ash explained that," Luigi said, neglecting to mention that he hadn't gotten any of it.

"Good, so he can do something right. When you're able to, use a Pokémon with a defensive advantage, or with a move that has an offensive advantage. For instance, don't use your Raichu for a Ground-Type opponent. Be creative with which moves you use, too - Don't focus too heavily on offense or defense; and remember that almost anything can be used offensively if you know what you're doing. Improvise. Also, remember that the best way to avoid damage is to not get hit at all."

"Oh, that I know," Luigi said. "I'm used to dodging, countering, etc. in... uh, karate."

"Oh, so you're a bit of a martial artist?" Misty asked. "Good! You can use that. It can be very helpful to teach your Pokémon some of your own style if you can. Easier cooperation and all that. That's all I've got for now, sorry. I have to eat lunch and deal with you-know-who." And just like that, her mood changed and she stomped over to remove Brock from her sisters in her signature fashion: dragging him out of the room by the ear.

* * *

_"Our agent has reported information on he boy's whereabouts. He's now accompanied by a Gym Leader and an additional trainer."  
_

_"Good... Good. All for the better. And our enemy's plans?"_

_"They don't know who the boy really is yet. They know he's somewhere in the world, but they haven't figured out who he is."  
_

_"Very good, very good."  
_

_"Should we make our move yet?"  
_

_"Very soon. We need to see what move our foes make."  
_


	13. Chapter 13

_On the section focused on Mario, it just seemed like it would work best. Maybe it does, maybe not.  
_

**Chapter 13**

* * *

**(Ash)**

As Misty dragged Brock out of the room, Ash turned to Luigi. The green-clad boy seemed deep in thought.

"Something wrong?" Ash asked.

"_You seem... off,_" Pikachu added.

"Just thinking about everything and trying to locate Casey," Luigi said. "I'm a bit worried. Not about Casey, it can take care of itself. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not that Mario followed me... I mean, yeah, he's my twin, we've been together since we were born; and I really wouldn't know what to do without him, but... I'm not sure him following me is the best thing for our world," Luigi admitted.

"Oh..." Ash thought about what Luigi had told him, "That's right... You guys protect people."

"A lot of people," Luigi confirmed. "And Mario's impulsive. He probably just told Peach (I told you about her, right?), Yvan, Wolley (our hero trainees), and whoever he ran into along the way to wherever it is that he used to get here. I mean, what if Bowser attacks, and overpowers Yvan and Wolley? What if a meteor comes falling from the sky? What if a pink marsmallow starts eating everything? What if-"

"Rai-chu," Luke said.

Luigi sighed. "Maybe you're right... Still, I can't help but worrying."

"I'm sure it'll all turn out okay," Ash reassured Luigi. "If Mario got here, that means you can get back, right?"

Luigi didn't say anything, just stared into the pool.

"Uh... Right?"

"... Probably. It's... Not entirely unlikely that he jumped into the situation headfirst with no way back."

"Oh," Ash said. "Can we talk about something else?"

Luigi nodded. "It's over and done with now. Why don't we go and find Casey?"

"Sounds good to me."

Luigi, Ash, Pikachu, and Luke left the gym. Immediately after coming out, Luigi called Casey's name. There was no response, not even a mischievous laugh. He waited a few seconds, and became worried when nothing in the immediate vicinity was inconveniently covered in webbing.

Luigi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Ash couldn't tell exactly what he was doing, so he tried to look closely to find Casey. In a few seconds, he realized the Pokémon wasn't around, without being entirely sure how he'd realized that.

"It's not here," Ash said, interrupting Luigi's thoughts. "I think it went north... And I don't think it was happy."

Luigi opened his eyes, looking to Ash. "Are you sure?"

He was, for some reason. "Yes."

"Do you think it was the three stooges?"

"Who?" Ash asked, genuinely confused.

"Team Rocket," Luigi corrected himself.

"Oh, them," Ash said. Come to think of it, it probably was them. Actually, no. It was definitely them. This had Team Rocket written all over it. "Yes, they did it."

"Let's go," And with that, Luigi picked up Luke and took off to the north. Ash and Pikachu were soon to follow.

* * *

**(Team Rocket)**

"Good news, Boss!" Jessie said through the phone they'd installed on their hot air balloon. "We've got the Pokémon of the new twerp!"

Someone on the other end of the line said something.

"Well, um, a Weedle, but..."

The boss yelled something at Jessie through the phone.

"... Yes, sir. Understood." She hung up the phone.

"How'd it go?" James asked, having a good idea of the response. In his arms he held a cage containing a Weedle, who appeared to be quite disinterested in its surroundings.

"Threatened to demote us again if we didn't get him something useful," Jessie sighed.

"Maybes we should see what makes da green twoip tick?" Meowth suggested, examining the strange giant brown leaf they'd picked up somewhere on Route 25 below.

Jessie and James stared at him.

"Yeah, yeah, here it comes. 'Stupid Meowth', 'That'll never work, Meowth', 'Shut up, Meowth, I'm tryin ta yell at ya', 'Meowth, don't take everythin Jessie says seriously', 'BUTT OUT JAMES!', bla bla bla."

"... Actually," Jessie said, considering the prospect. "That's a good idea! With that kind of firepower, Team Rocket could rule the world! I'm a genius!"

"Uh, Jessie, it was-"

"Let us put my plan into action!" Jessie yelled. "SOON, THE WORLD SHALL FEAR THE MIGHT OF TEAM ROCKET!"

"But, Jessie, Meowth-"

"Hey! You three!" A voice yelled from the trees below their balloon. "Give me back Casey!"

The trio looked down to see the familiar green twerp.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie yelled hamtastically.

"Make it double!" James added.

"To-"

"Just give it back," the twerp said tiredly. "I've had enough hammy boasts to last a lifetime. And this is even worse than 'You're looking at a 100% A-grade prime-cut final boss!'"

"Rai," the twerp's weird Raichu agreed.

"STOP INTERRUPTING OUR MOTTO!" Jessie yelled. "To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation..." James said nervously.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"And it's James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight fight!"

"Meowth! Dat's right!"

The twerp jumped straight up, easily landing in the basket of their balloon.

"... Surrendering would be nice," James said.

"I'm not in the mood, please give me Casey, and I'll just... Where did you get that leaf?!" he asked, panicked.

"Dis?" Meowth asked, holding up the strange leaf. "Just down dere. Why? You scared of it?"

"... No, don't be stupid," the twerp said. "I'm not scared of Super Leaves. Just... Make a deal. You give me Casey, and I'm on my way."

"Super Leaf?" James asked. "That's a weird name."

Jessie got an idea. "I've got a deal for you. You get your... What is it, Casserole?"

"Casey," the twerp said.

"Right, right. You get... that thing, and you tell us how you do all that stuff you do. And then you leave us alone."

"... You are aware I could just forcibly take it, right?"

"This is one of our electricity-absorbing cages," Jessie grinned evilly, a plan coming to her. "If you try and take it... You'll never open it before we release all that pent-up electricity on your poor Pokémon. You've seen how much that Pikachu shocks us. Imagine how much there is in the cage." The cage couldn't actually do that, no matter how much electricity was stored in it. But the twerp didn't know that.

"You..." the twerp trailed off. "You wouldn't... Very well. Give me Casey, and I'll tell you. If it wouldn't bother you, I'd also like to have the leaf."

"That's fine," James said quickly. "Just don't beat us up."

"I will keep my word," the boy said.

"Get on with it," Meowth said.

"I'm from an alternate dimension. I am given power by the magic of the stars, and that's how I am able to do the things I do. Now give me my friend."

Team Rocket glanced at each other. They weren't sure what to make of it, but maybe Dr. Zager knew something... But a deal was a deal, and there was no reason to keep something the boss wasn't interested in.

James let Casey out of the cage, and the twerp recalled it. Meowth gave him the leaf, and he jumped back down to his Raichu. He picked up the mouse, and took off back towards the bridge to Cerulean City.

Jessie picked up the phone, and dialed the boss's phone number. "Dr. Zager? We have something we need you to research..."

* * *

**(Luigi)**

Luigi was VERY glad that he'd gotten Casey back. He didn't want to imagine what would happen to Casey with the amount of electricity he'd sensed in the cage. It didn't take him long to reach Ash, who'd been trying to follow him.

"Did you get it back?" Ash asked immediately. "Is it okay?"

"Yes, and yes," Luigi said. Ash sighed in relief. "You were right about it being Team Rocket."

"Pika-pika!"

"_I'm just glad it's back,_" Luke said, "_It wouldn't be the same without it around._"

"Speaking of back, let's make sure Brock's ready to leave soon."

"He's not."

"Yeah, I know, but still..."

"Let's go," Ash said happily, turning towards the bridge.

"Okey-dokey."

* * *

**(Mario)**

You know me, don't you? If you don't, It's-a-me, Mario! The greatest, most awesomest hero the world has ever known!

Currently trekking through a strange alternate dimension in search of answers to what the second-biggest pain in the neck I've ever known was planning.

I was heading south, towards my next destination, as I saw one of the very last things I'd expected to see.

There was no way they could be growing here, and yet there it was. A single large blue flower, with two eyes on the petals. It gave off a feeling of cold so familiar, I didn't even have to have seen it to know I'd found an Ice Flower.

In a place they didn't grow at all.

Quickly, I plucked the flower, shoving it into my special backpack. Without hesitating, I took out my 3DS Horror, and quickly contacted Prof. Gadd.

"Ah, Mario, my boy!" Elvin said. "How's it going?"

"Sorry to tell you, but..." I took out the Ice Flower. "We have a problem. This was growing by the side of the road."

"An Ice Flower?" Elvin asked, suddenly less cheerful. "Then... That means... I'm afraid that Bowser's methods, whatever they were, might have created leaks between our dimensions. Or he's intentionally sending power-ups through, which is far less likely. One way or another, tread carefully. And make sure that no one you don't trust completely finds out."

"Right," I said. "Mario out."

"Good luck." Elvin hung up.

Now... I might need to check up on a few organizations I was monitoring while I still had the 3DS Horror out. Seriously, this thing does everything. Everything went as normal, no one seemed to have found Luigi at first.

Of course I had the misfortune to miss the memo sent in by a certain Dr. Zager by just a few moments. And, because of that, everything I'd been doing became so much more complicated. Ah, the life of a hero.

But that's a story I don't need to tell yet.


	14. Chapter 14

_TERRIBLY sorry for such the long wait... I've had some things going on. I graduated from high school, had a birthday, started a fan game project I might actually finish (visit my deviantArt page for details)... Lots of stuff.  
_

_Also, I watched Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorperated. ALL OF IT. :D_

**Chapter 14**

* * *

It was not a very long trip back to Cerulean Gym, and the only remotely eventful thing that happened was Casey being returned to its Poké Ball because of what Luigi referred to as "maniacal laughter".

The gym itself was much more eventful.

Ash and Luigi returned to the main room of the Cerulean Gym to find Misty sitting in a chair at the far end, her sisters talking with Tracey in a corner; and Brock tied up in the referee's chair.

"Uh... You okay there, Brock?" Luigi asked.

"... Maybe," Brock said.

"... Do you need me to get you down?"

"... I don't know," Brock admitted. "On one hand, MISTY'S SISTERS. On the other... _Misty_."

"You'd better believe it," Misty said. "So, Luigi... How about a battle?" She asked kindly.

"Umm... No, thank you," Luigi said. "I'm terrible."

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Misty exclaimed. "And you'll never get better if you don't try."

"That's true..." Luigi said.

"And I gave you some advice," Misty added. "If you don't put it to work, then that's all for waste, isn't it?"

"... A good point," Luigi conceded.

"I say go for it!" Ash exclaimed. "Just Luke against... Whoever she sends out."

"... Okay, fine, I agree."

* * *

"This is a one-on-one battle between Gym Leader Misty WITH GOR-" Brock caught the look in Misty's eyes, and quickly revised his sentence. "-Uh, gourmet cooking skills... pfft..." Brock stifled a laugh, and he wasn't the only one. Ash, Pikachu, and Tracey all began laughing as well, and were quickly silenced by a glare from Misty.

"... And the challenger... ha ha... Luigi... heh... Didn't catch your last name..."

"... Um..." Luigi hadn't actually thought about that particular issue. "... I REALLY have no idea what to tell you there. Just, uh, do the rule announcing thing."

"Right. As with any gym battle, only the challenger may substitute Pokemon, but as it's one-on-one, that's a moot point. Trainers, choose your Pokémon!"

"Staryu, I CHOOSE YOU!" Misty sent out a small, brown, starfish-creature with a jewel in its center.

"Let's go, Luke!" Luigi said.

"Alright, since you need a bit of practice, I'll let you make the first move this time," Misty grinned. "Beyond that, though... No holding back!"

"Right. Luke, I want you to try out Iron Tail."

"Rai!" Luke crossed the water, using the provided "stepping stones" to reach Staryu. His tail became black and shiny, and he tried to use it to hit Staryu with... Only to have his attack dodged.

"So, that's how it is..." Luigi mumbled. "It's all about timing, Luke! Give yourself enough time for a powerful attack, but not enough for it to be dodged."

"Rai!"

"I see..." Misty said. "... You do seem to know a bit about what you're talking about... STARYU, TACKLE!"

"Jump on Staryu and push down with your feet!" Luigi said quickly. Luke, not thinking to question it, complied. To his surprise, Staryu was actually sent tumbling into the water.

"And I've never seen something quite like that," Misty said. "Interesting... Staryu, come out and use Swift." The starfish jumped out of the water quickly, and began shooting stars at Luke.

"Deflect it with Iron Tail!" Luigi shouted, getting a bit pumped up, much to his own surprise. "Try and hit some of the star-things into other of the star-things!"

Luke tried - He was somewhat successful, and managed to deflect or otherwise counter about half the stars, a couple of which actually managed to hit Staryu.

"STARYU, WATER GUN!"

_She doesn't waste time_, Luigi noted. _A direct stream of water... Only one thing for that..._

"Shock the water, Luke!"

"Rai... CHUUUUUUUUUU!" Luke released a Thunderbolt just as the water hit him. The electricity traveled through the water at lightning speed, and shocked Staryu into fainting.

"... Impressive," Misty said. "Staryu, return. You've done well. Have a nice rest." A beam of light shot out of Staryu's Poké Ball, reclaiming the starfish.

"Staryu is unable to battle?" Brock asked. "Umm... Well, it was an electric... Ah, Luigi is the winner!"

"... I won?" Luigi asked, dumbstruck. "... How did I win?"

"RAI-CHU-RAI!" Luke screamed. He started dancing... Really strangely. It reminded Luigi of his own victory dance... Only rodents didn't really seem able to pull it off, Luigi thought he looked very goofy.

"You thought it through," Misty said. "Unlike a certain person I know who wears a red hat..."

"Oh! I know someone like that, too. Red hat, doesn't think things through, manages to win anyway... Sounds just like my brother."

"She knows your brother?" Ash asked curiously. "But I thought you lived in - Oh, right. Not supposed to tell anyone that part."

"Ash, you can't be that dense..." Misty said. She thought for a moment before rectifying her statement. "Okay, yeah, you can."

"Hey! Why does everyone think I'm stupid?" Ash pouted.

"Because you are," Misty said.

"... Pikachu, do you think I'm stupid?"

"Pi," Pikachu said, shaking his head.

"See? He agrees with me."

"... Is this conversation needed?" Luigi asks. "I mean, yeah, Mario does stupid stuff, but..."

"I only get to talk to Ash every once in a while. Seriously, it's been a year since the last time I spoke to him."

"Oh, right, he has some sort of cross-trance thing now."

"X-transceiver?"

"Yeah, that."

"... So that means I can call him at criticize him whenever I want?" Misty asked.

"... Why is that the first thing you think of?" Ash asked.

"Because you're my friend, and it's fun to make fun of you."

"Of course..."

"Can I get down now?" Brock asked. "... And where did Tracey and your sisters go?"

"Oh, they walked off about halfway through the battle," Misty said unconcerned. "They do that almost every time Tracey visits. And you can get down if you give me Ash's contact information and leave the gym right afterwards. I don't appreciate your... Advances on my sisters. Understood?"

"Yes. Ash, Luigi, I'll meet you outside. We'll... Uh, leave, right after I finish giving Misty Ash's contact information."

"Okay! Talk to you soon, Misty. Hopefully not just for you to criticize me," Ash said, grinning.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Misty grinned back.

"Bye, Misty. See ya later."

"You too, Ash. Take care of yourself."

Ash and Luigi left the gym, and had a short discussion while waiting for Brock to finish up.

"Are you glad that your brother's here too?" Ash asked.

"Yes... And at the same time, no..." Luigi said. "I never know what decision to make without my brother around... It's just so disorienting. And Mario and I have a duty to protect the world. I'm not sure how we can do that with both of us gone... Hopefully our protégés can handle themselves in our absence. They're skilled, but..."

"... You haven't finished teaching them?" Ash guessed.

Luigi nodded in confirmation.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Ash reassured Luigi. "... Is Bowser anything like Team Rocket?"

"He's even more of an idiot. But he's also a giant fire-breathing turtle who can punch darkness to death."

"... What?"

"It makes more sense with the whole story," Luigi said just as Brock came out of the gym. After making sure that everything was in order, they set off for their adventure to continue.

* * *

Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket, had been having a mostly good day. Sure, his second-worst field agents had been stopped by a wannabe superhero (for the fifth time that week), but the team's other influences on the outside world were going very well. His newest field agent, Alanio, was proving to be incredibly effective, despite his strict "I don't fight people with powers" policy... Not that there were many people with powers, but they tended to be very annoying to deal with. He still remembered how Alanio passed his entrance exam: Scaling the side of a building with his bare hands, using some homemade technology to melt through a window, and then climbing across the ceiling to reach the fake Snorlax he was supposed to steal.

Not quite as impressive as Domino's performance had been, but still enough to guarantee him elite status as long as he didn't do something like _THEM_. Giovanni didn't even like to think their names. And also couldn't quite remember what their names were.

The dark-haired man turned his thoughts back to his new agent. Truly, he'd never seen anyone handle themselves in a fight like he did. He was quick, agile, and strong. Not to mention his expertise in pyrotechnics.

Unfortunately, at least in Giovanni's eyes, his secretary reported that a team of field agents wanted to see him. He could tell by their voices and general enthusiasm that it was _THEM_.

"Let's get this over with," Giovanni said. He immediately regretted it, just as he knew he would, when _THEY_ burst into the room and started screaming about everything and anything and for him to forgive _THEM_ for failing to catch some twerp's Pikachu again. Unless it was that Pikachu that produced that giant Electro Ball that exploded on him a few months back, he wasn't interested. And, knowing them, they were almost certainly talking about the Pikachu of that random trainer they decided to stalk.

_SHE_ had decided to hit her teammates over the head so she could talk by herself. He'd always thought that _SHE_ could be an excellent agent if not for _HIM_ and _IT_.

"Giovanni, sir, did you get the memo from Dr. Zager on our findings?"

Zager? Oh, right, he'd assigned Zager to _THEM_. He'd been ignoring anything from him since _THEY_ had stopped being remotely competent again.

"No, I don't believe I have," Giovanni said disinterestedly. "What was it about?"

_IT_ got up, and begun to talk in _IT_'s stupidly-accented voice. "We founds ourselves a supabeing from anotha dimen-shin!"

He highly doubted it. "Is that so? How do you know?"

"He told us!" _HE_ spoke up for the first time. Giovanni particularly didn't like _HIM_. _HIS_ hair was dyed such a stupid purple and _HE_ was too obsessed with bottle caps. He hadn't believed for a second that _HE_ would ever be a good Team Rocket agent.

"And you believed him?"

"Well, yes," _SHE_ said. "But you should have seen what he did!"

"He's got tundabolt power to da max!" _IT_ added.

"And he jumps like..." _HE_ stumbled on _HIS_ words. "... Something that jumps well?"

"Did he tell you his name? What did he look like?" Giovanni asked. He was beginning to take interest in this development. If his hunch was correct, then his unusual contact had been telling the truth, and he could put their joint plan into motion.

"Sometin like... Louie?" _IT_ said. Not the name he'd been hoping for.

"No, no, he said his name was Linguini." _SHE_ corrected _IT_. That was even further from what he was looking for.

"It was Luigi, I remember." Bingo. _HE_'d gotten the name. Now if only the description matched up. "He wore a lot of green, had a REALLY big nose, and his eyes were blue. Like, REALLY blue. I think they were glowing a little." That matched up, too. Amazing. _THEY_ had managed to actually find some useful information.

"Follow him around," Giovanni ordered. "Keep an eye on him."

"Can do!" _HE_ said. "He's traveling with that twerp with the Pikachu!"

"Well, then, that makes your job easier." Giovanni said. He was growing tired of the conversation. "Now, go! I have matters to attend to." _THEY_ left, giggling all the way. Giovanni sighed, and went back to what he had been doing before: Waiting for good ideas to come to his head while he did random things.

"Perrrsian..."

And feed his cat.


	15. Chapter 15

_Quick note for those who don't know: Yvan is Blue Toad, Wolley is Yellow Toad. They don't have offical names, but that's what IGN calls them, so I'm going with that. This chapter's another cut back to the MK. No guarantees on when the elements introduced here will come into the main plot.  
_

_Also, only a few days this time. And, FEZ-FEZ-FEZ-FEZ... but it keeps crashing..._

**Chapter 15**

* * *

Princess Peach was sitting on her throne. Another day, more boring politics, more people from other countries complaining about her "hogging" the Mario Brothers, followed by her pointing out that the Mario Bros were their own people and not under her employment at all. And then there were the stupid conspiracy theorists who didn't believe Mario and Luigi existed and kept providing arguments about how they were impossible. Peach had already accepted that they broke every law of physics under the sun on a daily basis, but apparently people still tried to convince her they didn't exist. Peach really hoped this was over soon, she was late for a bit of a get-together with her friends to party and discuss Mario and Luigi's absence.

Yvan and Wolley, Mario and Luigi's proteges (who actually WERE employed by her) were standing guard in case Bowser decided to take the opportunity to attack. Predictably, he did. As usual, he made his entrance by breaking down the doors with his fist.

"Gwa ha ha! Bowser's back, baby! PERFECT plan!" Bowser yelled, flexing his right arm.

"Bowser!" Yvan and Wolley yelled, getting into a defensive position.

"That's it? The patheti-toads? Gwah! Where are your pet plumbers? OH, I KNOW! EXACTLY WHERE I WANT THEM! Perfect plan, remember? No way out! First, I marry you! Second, take your kingdom! Third-"

While Bowser was gloating, the blue Toad had pulled out an Ice Flower. Yvan used the item, powering up into his ice form. He shot a ball of ice at Bowser in hopes of catching the Koopa King off-guard.

"That's it?" Bowser asked. "That barely even tickles! I knew this would be easy, but I expected-"

Wolley had taken his brother's cue, and transformed into his Fire form to shoot a volley of fireballs at the Koopa.

"Grah! Ow! That actually stung a bit! Nice diversion, Blue; nice shot, Yellow," the Demon King complimented them. Bowser smirked. "But you're small time compared to Mario and Green 'Stache!" The great Koopa took a deep breath, his head turning red with the heat. He exhaled, giant balls of flame shooting from his mouth.

Yvan and Wolley barely managed to dodge the screaming balls of fire, and continued their assault on Bowser.

Bowser, likewise, continued his assault with flame, while slowly walking forward. Yvan countered the fireballs with ice balls, Wolley continued dodging and shooting Bowser with fire.

As soon as Bowser was within ten feet of the two Toads, he stopped breathing fire to lean backwards.

"What's he doing?" Wolley asked, stopping his assault.

"Get down!" Peach yelled. "He's gonna..."

Her warning came too late. Bowser smashed Yvan and Wolley into the wall behind Peach, KO-ing them and causing their powers to disperse.

Bowser smirked once more. "Pathetic as ever... Now what, my princess? Nowhere left to go."

Peach pressed a button on her throne's armrest. "Bowser's here. Help out, everyone." Her voice echoed through the castle's PA system.

"I just took out your top bodyguards! Whatcha gonna do?" Bowser laughed.

"Not her!" A high-pitched voice yelled from the conference room to the right of Peach's throne. A green reptilian creature with soft, rounded features ran into the room. "Me!" he said.

"Yoshi?" Bowser asked. "Didn't expect you here. No matter, you're just one guy."

"Yo, B!" Another voice yelled as a red haired girl in a yellow dress ran into the room after Yoshi. "Hey, it's Daisy here! And I'm all prepared to lay the beat down on you!"

"Wa-ha! Wario's in the house!" Another entered the room, a fat man with a wicked moustache, yellow cap, and purple overalls.

"So there's an actual challenge," Bowser sounded impressed. "Okay, SHOWTIME!"

Yoshi dashed forward, egg in hand and ready to smash Bowser in the face with it. Close behind was Daisy with a crystal coating forming around her fist. Wario just dashed forward to punch Bowser.

Bowser caught the egg Yoshi threw at him, threw it back at Yoshi to knock him into Daisy, and Bowser met Wario's punch with one of his own. Wario almost managed to overpower Bowser, but was still sent flying into a pile with Daisy and Yoshi.

"Hmph. Weaklings, as I said. Now-" Bowser was sent flying across the room by a punch from Wario. "GRAH! WHY ARE YOU EVEN TRYING TO PROTECT HER?"

"Money."

"Of course. Ugh... Don't want to deal with you." He was immediately clonked in the head by a fist encased in crystal.

"Well, that's too bad, 'cuz we gotta deal with you? YA THINK YOU'RE FUN TO DEAL WITH, HUH?" Daisy yelled, the crystal around her fist shattering. "EAT FLOWERS!"

"That is the lamest battle cry-" Flowers instantly grew out of the ground at Bowser's feet, flinging him fifty feet into the air and getting his head stuck in the ceiling. He pulled himself out, only to get hit in the stomach by a massive Yoshi Egg. Sent reeling by the attack, he curled into a ball in midair, and started rolling towards the three at high speed. Daisy and Wario both punched Bowser at the same time, sending him crashing into a wall. Before Bowser had a chance to get up, he got yet another face-full of egg.

"GRAH! YOU ARE SO..." He didn't even have a chance to finish that sentence before he saw a yellow-clad readhead jumping towards him, fist ready to slam into the ground.

"HI I'M DAISY!" Daisy screamed, slamming her fist into the ground as she landed. Crystals erupted all around her, sending Bowser into the air once again. Bowser tried curling into a ball to minimize the damage, but that plot was foiled by Wario throwing Yoshi at him just for the green dragon to hit him with his tail... over... and over... and over, until he just slammed a rainbow-glowing egg into his face, sending the Koopa King plummeting to the ground.

"Ugh..." Bowser was suprised at the fight the three had put up. They hadn't beaten him yet, but he knew that they could. He could still win, but it'd be close. It was time for him to get on to why he was here in the first place. "KAMEK, THIS IS YOUR CUE! SEND 'EM OFF!" Bowser roared, punching Yoshi and Daisy both into a pileup with Wario while they were stunned by the sound.

There was a flash of light as a blue-robed Koopa appeared. Without hesitation, he sent a blast of magic at the three on the floor before they had a chance to recover. Another flash appeared just as the magic made contact, and they disappeared.

"... So, what do you think of my plan NOW?" Bowser asked, crossing his arms. "Pretty sweet, huh? Anyone in my way... Poof! Gone! Couldn't very well do that to Mario, so I had to trick him by doing it to his brother while he slept! Grah-ha! Excuse me, Princess, but I have a world to conquer. And you're part of the plan. Now, with no further interruptions..." Bowser began walking towards Peach, only to be struck in the head by a thorny purple vine.

"WAA-LUIGI SAYS NO!" Screamed a man, tall, thin, and wearing purple.

"YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KICKED MY BUTT DURING A BAD DAY!" Bowser screamed. "KAMEK, BLAST HIM! GIVE HIM SOMETHING 'SPECIAL', TOO!"

"My pleasure," Kamek smirked, sending a blast of magic at Waluigi, who jumped over the attack and swung another purple vine at Bowser. Kamek blasted again, instead aiming for the vine, and both Waluigi and the vine disappeared in a flash.

"So, princess, where were we?" Bowser asked. "Right. BOWSER WINS! GRADE-A, PRIME CUT FINAL BOSS MATERIAL RIGHT HERE! SHOW ME FOOLS, I STOMP 'EM! And now... If that's all, and there's nothing else..." Bowser took out a remote, and pressed a button on it. The castle began rumbling, before suddenly stopping. "Just in case you had any ideas about escape. Castle's in the sky, I'm stronger than ever, and no one's here to save you. YES! PERFECT PLAN!"

"..."

"Aww, come on, baby, what's with the silent treatment?"

Peach motioned for Bowser to come close.

"Don't want old and crusty Kamek to hear?" Bowser asked.

"HEY!"

"Shuddit." Bowser walked towards Princess Peach, expecting her to express her undying love for him. She whacked him with her frying pan and dashed out the door.

"STOP HER!" Bowser yelled.

Kamek quickly conjured a broom to chase the princess with, but only had time to see her plunging off the edge of the castle to the world below.

"She escaped?" Bowser asked, walking out. "Crud. No matter. We did destroy Gadd's original machine, right?"

"I'm sure of it," Kamek replied.

"Then we can find her."

"Sir, may I remind you that-"

"No, you may not. Just do that future prediction thing to tell where she'll be."

"Bowser, that won't-"

"Don't gimme that, Kamek."

"My King, I know you're not interested, but could you-"

"No."

"But you have no idea what the rules of magic-"

"I don't care. I want my lovely wife."

"... Fine. I'll use my magic to find her," Kamek said, utterly unsure of how to do that. He made prophecies. Completely different field than scrying... But, no, Bowser didn't get the difference.


End file.
